Number Games
by Wandering Paladin
Summary: There have to be more numbers, more psychic children. We've met 011 and 008, but what about the others? Starts after the snowball with plenty of fluff.
1. Chapter 1: Christmas

Greetings fellow travelers

I haven't written a story to post for a long time, but I've just been so obsessed with Stranger Things since season 2 came out that I had to create my own version of season 3. I spent a whole year avoiding it at all costs, and I got so annoyed when people kept saying I should watch it, but then I finally watched it and I've been hooked ever since.

This is the first of many chapters that will lead up to my Stranger Things 3 interpretation. It'll be almost all fun and fluff, so I hope you enjoy.

* * *

The Snowball lasts long into the night, but few by few kids start to leave. Parents come and go with their children after looking through the window at their kids dancing, making small talk with Mr. Clarke while they waited their turn.

There are a few that don't seem to notice at all, though. A precious few that have the rest of the world tuned out, finally able to enjoy a night of peace, together.

Eventually they're the only ones left in the gym as the last song plays, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. As the last chords fade out of the speakers the teacher chaperones and custodians start about cleaning up. Mr. Clarke ushers the last students, his personal favorites, out of the gym.

"I hope you kids had fun tonight," He says once they're out of the gym.

Two sets of them are holding hands, and the other two look plenty happy by themselves. The older kids with them are similar, though they're also looking at their younger counterparts with amusement.

"A pleasure as always, my lord," Dustin responds with an exaggerated bow. Mr. Clarke laughs, but returns a small bow of his own.

"I think your rides are waiting outside," Mr. Clarke tells them, pointing into the parking lot where Joyce and Hopper are still chatting. "Don't keep them waiting too long. Have a great weekend."

With that he turns to go back and start breaking down all the electronic equipment, but he stops, taking a closer look at one member of the group. The girl's eyes widen, taking a micro-step backward at the scrutiny.

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" He asks. "You look really familiar."

She opens her mouth, but no words come out, and she looks a little panicked.

"She's new in town, Mr. Clarke," Mike jumps in, squeezing her hand. "You must be confusing her for someone else."

"Oh, my mistake then," The teacher says, much to the kids' relief. "I'm Scott Clarke, I'm one of their teachers here at Hawkins Middle. It's a pleasure to meet you miss...?"

"Jane," The girl replies quietly. "Jane...Hopper."

Mr. Clarke seems to come to a realization, and then smiles.

"Welcome to Hawkins, Jane," He tells her, and then stands up a little straighter to address the whole group. "Tell your parents I say hello, as always. That goes for you too, miss Jane."

"Will do," Dustin responds immediately.

"Count on us," Lucas tells him right after.

They both have nervous smiles on their faces, but Mr. Clarke doesn't seem to notice. He bids them a good weekend again, and then disappears back in the gym.

The entire group breathes a sigh of relief once he's gone.

"That was too close," Mike says breathlessly.

"He only met her once!" Lucas exclaims incredulously. "Over a year ago!"

"He's got a great memory for people though," Dustin points out. "That's why he's one of the best teachers."

"Let's just go before we have any other incidents," Nancy suggests, starting to usher everyone toward the door.

Everyone shivers a little once they step outside, and Nancy rubs her arms.

"It's cold," El murmurs, her breath forming a cloud.

Almost immediately Mike shrugs off his suit jacket and puts it over her shoulders. She smiles, wrapping it closer around herself, enjoying the fact that it's warm and smells like Mike.

"Whipped," Dustin says through a storm of fake coughs, earning a glare from Mike and laughs from Lucas and Will.

"What does 'whipped' mean?" El asks, making all the other kids burst out laughing, except for Mike. She looks at them confused as they walk across the parking lot. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong," Mike tells her quickly. "It doesn't matter what the word means, it's just something stupid."

He directs a glare at Dustin with the last part, but the boy doesn't notice.

"Hey guys," Joyce calls once they get close to her and Hopper. "How was it? Did you guys have fun?"

"It was awesome," Will answers for the group.

Meanwhile Hopper eyes the jacket around El's shoulders suspiciously, as well as how close she and Mike are standing, their shoulders all but connected. Neither of the kids seem to notice the suspicion on them, still focused on Mrs. Byers.

"Just one more week until Christmas Break," Dustin says with a big sigh of relief, rubbing his hands together. "It's gonna be awesome!"

"Speak for yourself," Lucas retorts. "We're going to my crazy grandmother's house for Christmas dinner, it's gonna be awful."

"You're grandmother's so sweet though," Mrs. Byers interjects. "She always brings cookies to give to all the parents when she visits."

"Yeah, but she just loves pinching cheeks," Lucas informs her. "And she always forgets that you already said hello, so she does it four or five times."

Everyone shares a nice laugh at his sullen forecast for break. Mike joins in laughing at Lucas' plight, until he feels a tap on the shoulder.

"Mike, what's Christmas?" El asks, curiosity and confusion written all over her face as the laughing dies down.

"Oh, well, umm," Mike starts, grasping for a place to start. "Christmas is a holiday, on December 25th every year."

"And you get lots and lots of presents," Dustin jumps in excitedly. "And there's a special Christmas Dinner with lots of food."

"And you celebrate it with your family," Mrs. Byers adds. "That's the most important part, to be with family when you celebrate."

"Yeah, and as for presents, you're supposed to give them to other people to," Will informs the slightly less confused girl. "It's the 'Season of Giving', so people exchange gifts with each other. And if you're good all year long, Santa Claus comes and brings you even more presents."

"Santa Claus?" She questions, her confusion coming back. "Who's Santa Claus?"

"He's kind of like the spirit of Christmas," Mike explains. "He's fat jolly old man with a long white beard and a bright red suit. He and his reindeer bring all the good little boys and girls presents for Christmas."

She nods slowly, and then looks at Hopper.

"Is Santa going to bring me presents?" She asks with her big brown eyes glittering slightly in the dim December moonlight.

"He'll probably bring a few," The chief tells her. "You just need to keep being good until he comes."

"Is he going to bring all of you presents too?" She continues, looking expectantly from face to face.

"Of course," Dustin answers. "After everything we've done to help people in this town, I think we're permanent residents of the Nice List."

They all laugh at that, some easier than others. After a short silence Hopper clears his throat and gets everyone's attention.

"I think it's time we all go home for the night,"He says, stuffing his hands in his pockets so everyone hears his keys.

Everyone looks a little disappointed at the idea, and El even pouts at him, but he doesn't retract the statement.

"Chief?" Mike starts, nervousness and apprehension more than evident in his voice. "Can we talk really quick? Over there?"

Mike gestures to a spot a fair distance away, where nobody would be able to hear them, unless they start shouting. Knowing the history between the two of them, that's the most likely outcome.

"Yeah, sure," Hopper replies, tossing his cigarette to the ground, and then turns to El. "Start saying goodbye to everyone."

He and Mike move away from the main group, who one by one give El big goodbye hugs with promises of Christmas presents.

"Alright kid, what is it this time?" Hopper asks once they're out of earshot. "I've told you a hundred times already, it's still too early for visitors."

"I want to throw a Christmas party for El," Mike tells him, his voice still shaking a little bit. "You know she'll love it, and it would just be us-"

"The answer's still no," Hopper interrupts. "The fewer people who know where that cabin is, the better. Right now that's staying at me, Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy, and that's already too many."

"What if we had it somewhere else then?" Mike persists. "I'm sure Mrs. Byers wouldn't object, and their house is almost as out of the way as the cabin. You'd be the only one bringing her anywhere."

He remains silent for a few moments, chewing on his cheek while he thinks of an appropriate response without getting mad.

"After everything she's been through, don't you think a little holiday spirit would be good for her?" Mike continues pleadingly. "Especially now that the lab is shut down, letting her have a little time out of the cabin once in awhile-"

"Alright," Hopper tells him, interrupting again in exasperation. "If you can convince Joyce to go along with this plan, then fine, I'll bring her over for a few hours. But there are some rules we're going to go over before any of that happens."

"Rules?" Mike questions, still shocked that Hopper agreed.

"Yeah, rules," Hopper answers. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now let's go home and enjoy what we've got."

"Wait, there's one more thing!" Mike exclaims, drawing a few curious glances from his friends. "Don't tell El just yet, I want it to be a surprise for her."

"You don't even know if it's happening yet," Hopper retorts.

"It's happening," Mike insists. "Whatever I have to do to make it happen, I'm going to do it. She deserves this much at least."

Hopper gives the boy another scrutinous look, and then sighs.

"Fine, I'll keep it a secret," He agrees before turning and walking away, Mike close at his heels trying to fight down a grin.

The others give them curious looks when they get back, which they both elect to ignore. Hopper gives Joyce a one armed hug instead and whispers something in her ear that makes her smile a little more. Meanwhile Mike only has eyes for one person, as if the rest of the universe had ceased to exist altogether.

"I guess this is goodbye again," El murmurs, a sullen look in her eyes.

"It won't be for long this time," Mike assures her, taking her hands. "I promise we'll get to see each other more often. Hopper can't say no forever, right?"

El laughs a little, and then gives him a hug, tighter and longer than the ones she'd given to the others. It gets to the point that Hopper starts getting annoyed, though the others range from making mock goo goo eyes to bemused smirks.

Hopper finally clears his throat, and when they don't seem to notice he does it again, much louder. The two break apart, their faces a little more pink than before. El takes off Mike's jacket and gives it back, much to her displeasure as she shivers at the loss of warmth.

"Promise," She says, holding out her pinky.

"Promise," Mike repeats, sealing the vow between them.

With that Hopper leads El away to his car, and everyone else waves as they drive away. Once they're out of sight everyone rounds on Mike.

"What did you and Hopper talk about?" Dustin demands, getting closer than Mike seems entirely comfortable with.

"Geez guys, give me some space," Mike responds, taking a step back. "I have to ask Mrs. Byers a question or it doesn't really matter."

All eyes expectantly turn to Joyce, who seems a little surprised.

"Fire away," She says with a slightly apprehensive confidence.

"Can we throw a Christmas party for El at your house?" Mike pleads, doing his best rendition of puppy dog eyes. "It's the only way Hopper will agree to it."

She doesn't seem as surprised by the actual question, and her surprised look soon turns into a motherly smile.

"Of course we can, it'll be good for her to get out of that cabin," She answers, and Mike can't stop himself from cheering.

"That's so sweet Mike," Nancy comments. "She's going to love it."

"He's probably just hoping to be under the mistletoe with El," Lucas comments with a chuckle.

"You're dead Sinclair!" Mike shouts, leaping at his friend, but Jonathan holds him back with a smirk on his face.

"You're kind of just proving his point with this," Jonathan whisper to him, and Mike stops struggling with a huff, straightening his clothes again.

"*cough* whipped *cough*" Dustin starts again, but Mike just glares at him.

Aside from a couple chuckles everyone stays silent for a few moments, until Mike finally remembers the other part of what Hopper said.

"He said there would be a few rules to go over," Mike informs them. "He didn't actually tell me what they were, but they're probably important."

"I'm sure he'll let us know after I talk to him," Joyce assures everyone. "For now, why don't we all go home and get out of the cold?"

As if on cue another car pulls into the parking lot and comes up next to us. Sitting behind the wheel is none other than Steve Harrington.

"Hey everybody, sorry I'm a little late," He greets. "My dad started talking about apartments again, and once he starts he just can't stop."

"No problem, sweetie, you're just in time," Joyce tells him.

"I guess I'll see you guys on Monday," Dustin says, giving everyone a wave as he walks around the car and gets in the passenger seat.

"And I'm doing the carpool tonight, so let's go everyone," Joyce continues, but then can't seem to find her keys.

"Check your back pants pocket," Jonathan suggests, and lo-and-behold, that's where she'd put them.

"Thank you," She says, giving her older son a quick hug. "Try not to stay out too much later you two, I still need help decorating tomorrow, especially with the tree now that we're having a party."

"Don't worry Mrs. Byers, I'll make sure he's home in time for bed," Nancy assures her, giving Jonathan a pat on the arm. "I'm pretty tired too, I don't know if I'm up for doing much else."

With that the kids pile into Joyce's car, Will smug in the front seat while Lucas, Max, and Mike have to squeeze in the back. Nancy and Jonathan get into his car, and Steve just drives away with Dustin.

"Alright, Max, where do you live?" Mrs. Byers asks. "I'll drop you off first since I already know where Lucas lives, and Mike is staying the night to help us do the decorating tomorrow."

Max gives her directions, and gives Lucas a quick kiss on the cheek before getting out, which Mike and Will give him no end of grief about until he bails as well.

"So Mike, what are you going to get El for Christmas?" Will asks, breaking the relatively comfortable silence.

Mike is quiet for a few seconds to ponder the question, not having thought that far ahead just yet.

"I'm not sure, but it has to be something special," He finally says. "Something that means more coming from us."

"You mean from you?" Will replies, his smirk just getting more and more smug.

"I know where you sleep, Byers, don't think I won't strangle you," Mike threatens, but Will just laughs it off.

By the time they get to the little house at the edge of town, both boys have grown considerably more tired, practically trudging inside while yawning profusely.

Mike takes a quick shower, giving him some time to think, and also because he doesn't want to fight with Will and Jonathan for it in the morning. The two of them sleep in Will's room, as usual.

"Hey Mike, I know we teased you about it before, but...," Will says just as they're about to fall asleep. "I think it's really cool that your first thought was to throw El a Christmas party. She needs more people like that, after everything."

Mike groans an incoherent reply, probably missing most of what Will said. Will just smiles and turns out the lamp.

XxX

The last week of school is torturously long for Mike that year, though he does his best to distract himself with planning the Christmas party. His grades have made a significant jump over the last month, as has his attitude, though his fights with bullies haven't changed at all.

Luckily the week passes without incident, the teachers watching the hallways like hawks after two fights the week before. Mike had only been in one of them, and to his benefit a teacher had actually seen Troy start it from the other end of the hallway, so he hadn't gotten in any serious trouble.

Halfway through the week the Chief had called them all together to put down his ground rules for the party, and going forward. They mainly seemed like the ones he'd already given to El, like not going outside, keeping the curtains drawn, and the door securely locked the whole time.

When Saturday finally came around Mike was up long before his alarm, struggling with wrapping paper. The finished product looks like an absolute mess, but it won't give away what's underneath just by looking at it. It had cost him every last cent he'd managed to scrape together mowing lawns and raking leaves, as well as a few more dollars begged from Nancy with the promise of paying her back.

He packs extra clothes in his bag to spend the night at Will's again, grabs his sleeping bag out of his closet for the same purpose, and a few other odds and ends from around the room that he might find useful. When he goes downstairs his mother is still making breakfast, and she seems pretty surprised to see him.

"You're up early for a Saturday," She comments, mixing some kind of batter in a bowl, just adding chocolate chips to it. "Something special going on?"

"I just need to check something," Mike tells her, going straight to the fridge. He groans, biting back a curse around his mother.

"What's wrong?" His mother asks glancing over at him as he shuts the door.

"I need to borrow some money," He starts, resorting to pleading right out of the gate. "It's just a few dollars, I'll pay you back soon, I promise."

"What's this about?" She questions, eyes him suspiciously as she puts down the batter she's mixing.

"I just need to buy something for the party later," Mike answers, doing his best puppy dog stare. Unfortunately his mother seems immune to his.

"Were you supposed to take something with you after all?" She responds, putting her hands on her hips. "I told you to let me know by Thursday."

"No, it's not that!" Mike bursts out, interrupting her. "It's supposed to be part of a gift for someone, I just don't have enough money."

"I'm sure they'll understand if you can't give it to them right away," His mother replies, going back to her mixing. "And I thought you made a lot of money doing all that yard work this month."

"I spent that on the other part of the gift," He tells her, to which she raises an eyebrow. "It's just really important that I get these, so can I please have a couple dollars to buy it?"

"What could you possibly have bought that cost that much money?" She questions. "And what is it you want to buy this time?"

Mike has a silent crisis for several moments, trying to figure out how to explain this without revealing the secret.

"We made a new friend, so she needs a supercom for herself," He finally explains, his words carefully measured. "And she really likes Eggos."

His mother's expression changes from suspicion to a childish curiosity.

"So this is about a girl?" She asks with a little smile. "Trying to impress her?"

"What?! No!" Mike exclaims. "I'm just trying to welcome her to the party!"

His mother nods, but her smile still remains.

"Is it this mystery girl you were with at the dance?" She continues, enjoying that she can finally do her motherly relationship prying.

"Who told you about that?" Mike demands, looking more than a little worried.

"I was chatting with a few other mothers at the supermarket, and they mentioned the pretty new girl you were dancing with," She says, much to his embarrassment. "Is it true that you kissed?"

"Mom!" He yells, his face turning beet red.

"Oh, alright," She lets up, going over to her purse on the counter. "Since you've been doing so well this month, I'll let you have five dollars."

"Thank you," He huffs, his face still looking like a tomato.

"You should invite her over sometime," His mother tells him as he races back upstairs. "I can't wait to meet her."

Mike buries himself in his pillow, both wanting to die of embarrassment and wishing it were just a little bit later so he could go to Will's.

About fifteen minutes later his mom starts calling for breakfast, coming upstairs to get Holly. He waits another minute, making sure his face has no traces of red or pink, before he finally goes to eat. His mother hands him a plate of chocolate chip pancakes with a smile, which he purposely ignores, sitting down next to Holly.

The chocolate chips are still gooey in the pancakes, and Mike helps Holly put some syrup on them while Nancy joins them with a yawn.

"Morning you two," She greets, accepting the syrup from Mike.

"Morning!" Holly responds with a mouthful of pancake. Mike just grunts through his food, though he and Nancy both laugh a little at Holly's high spirits.

Even though Mike was there first, Nancy is the first one done with her pancakes. She takes a second to hand Holly a napkin for her syrupy chin before turning her attention to her brother.

"So, did you get it?" She asks, whispering and leaning forward a little.

"You don't have to whisper, mom already knows," He responds, though he doesn't sound particularly happy about it. "But yeah, I got the extended range model."

"She's going to love it," Nancy assures him. "Plus, you're getting her Eggos, right?"

"So you've been getting your advice from Nancy?" Their mother questions, sitting down with her own plate of pancakes.

"I've been known to offer some helpful hints every so often," Nancy answers, more than a little smug. Mike just stuffs the last of his pancakes in his mouth so he doesn't have to answer.

"And do you know who this mystery girl is?" Their mother presses between bites.

Nancy throws a glance at Mike, but he doesn't know what to say either, swallowing his mouthful of food with difficulty.

"I don't know too much," She finally replies. "I know that she's one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and she loves to learn."

"Hmm," Their mother responds, looking between the both of her older children. "Will I be meeting her, or her parents, anytime soon?"

"She's actually adopted," Nancy tells her before Mike can get a word in. "Chief Hopper must have had his grinch moment, his heart grew three sizes."

"So she's in your classes at school?" She persists, and now Mike has no excuse for not coming up with an answer.

"She had a little trouble in her last home," He explains, again choosing each word with the utmost care. "She's a little behind right now, so Hopper's homeschooling her. With some luck, she'll be able to enroll in high school with us next year."

Their mother just seems to eat it all up.

"You should offer to tutor her, I bet she'd love having another girl to talk to," She suggests to Nancy. "And Mike, you probably have some old textbooks or workbooks laying around up there you could lend to her."

"Will do," He says, getting up from the table with his plate.

"I should probably go get ready for the party too," Nancy adds, doing the same. "I promised Jonathan I'd help him get some last minute things together."

Mrs. Wheeler is left with a knowing smirk on her face at the table with her youngest daughter, who is still having far too much fun with pancakes and syrup. After another few minutes her husband finally comes downstairs, taking his plate from the counter.

"Everyone seems up very early today," He comments. "Did I miss something?"

XxX

It's just before noon when Mike gets to the Byers' house, leaning his bike up on the porch in case it snows. Mrs. Byers ushers him inside quickly, offering him a ham and cheese sandwich before they start setting all the party stuff up.

He eats it in a couple huge bites while Will throws the stuff he brought over in his bedroom out of the way.

"Alrighty then," Joyce says, looking over the living room. "We can probably move the coffee table out to the dining room..."

With that she starts directing the boys to move different things around, bringing some chairs into the living room for more seats. They get an old folding table out of the shed just in case, as Dustin's mom is supposedly sending some snacks, which usually means a feast of side dishes.

The couches get pushed to the edges of the room to leave space for everyone to socialize. The tv is left where it is so everyone can see it around the room, though Will takes his Atari to his room.

By the time Joyce is finally happy with the arrangement of the room, and has started all the cooking preparation she needs to do, it's already four o'clock. They're alerted to this fact when someone knocks on the door; Will answering it to reveal Dustin and Steve, both carrying a dish in each arm, and a duffle bag over Dustin's shoulder.

"These are just the first four, we've got, like, ten more in the car," Dustin tells everyone while they come inside. Steve helps Joyce fit all the dishes on the table, and it takes the three boys two more trips to get all the rest out of Steve's BMW, including three big trays of just deserts.

"And these are just snacks?" Will questions, looking over the dishes in wonder. No matter how many times it happens, he'll always be amazed.

"Snacks, side dishes, and a special christmas lamb stew," Dustin explains. "When she heard it was going to be a party she started cooking on Thursday, and placed an order at the bakery last Sunday."

"So long as Lucas doesn't get seconds, we should have plenty," Mike jokes.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, the next knock comes only a few minutes later, revealing Lucas and Max, both seeming a little cold after the bike and skateboard ride over. They're just as much in awe of the spread as anyone else, Max even more so because she's never had a 'snack' from Dustin's mom.

"Hopper said he won't get to leave the station until at least five thirty, so you kids can get started with whatever it is you want to do," Mrs. Byers informs them.

"Mike, I challenge you to dragon chess," Dustin says immediately.

"Did you seriously bring the dragon chess set with you?" Lucas asks incredulously.

"Of course I did," Dustin replies indignantly. "Now that emo-Mike is gone, I can get a legitimate game out of him.

"What's dragon chess?" Max chimes in before they can start arguing too much.

"It's a type of chess they use in D&D," Will explains. "Basically there's three chess boards set up in a stack, and the pieces are different creatures from D&D. They all move in special ways, and you have to consider all three levels at once."

"That sounds complicated," Max observes as Dustin and Mike go to start setting it up on the floor.

"Yes, but think of it this way," Lucas says. "If Mike is playing dragon chess, that means he won't just be moping about El not being here yet."

It takes them almost twenty minutes to set up the board with all the pieces, but once they actually start it gets intense pretty quickly. Mike makes expert use of his basilisks on the bottom level, striking Dustin's middle level pieces when they can't move. Dustin keeps his griffons swooping down on Mike's pieces, using their special triagonal attack to prevent his opponent from taking them.

Unfortunately for Dustin is starts to fall apart when Mike's mage moves to the upper level and immediately takes one griffon, with the dragon in its sights. Dustin's own mage is frozen by a basilisk, and has no way to come to the rescue.

In rapid succession Dustin loses his dragon, his second griffon, his basilisks, almost all his sylphs, his mage, his paladin, his unicorns, and his heroes. Meanwhile Mike only loses half his sylphs when they're on the middle level, a basilisk and some dwarves on the lowest level, and some sacrificial warriors on the middle.

Just as Mike is about to make the finishing move to put Dustin's king in checkmate there's a knock at the door. He immediately disregards the game entirely, rushing to open it. Unbeknownst to them, it had started flurrying a little while they were engrossed in the game, so when Mike throws the door open a little snow comes in along with El's hug.

"Mike!" She exclaims, her voice filled with joy and excitement.

"H-hi El," He responds, hugging her back with just as much excitement and joy, though he seems a lot more tentative and nervous about it.

The reason why decides to loudly clear his throat from the other side of the doorway, which to two of them are currently blocking with their hug.

"Maybe let us in the door first," Hopper suggests. Mike and El break apart quickly, and Mike flushes red in embarrassment, stepping out of the way. The Chief has a couple things with him as well, a couple bags and a bottle of eggnog.

Hopper shuts the door behind him and Joyce comes out to greet them. El takes off her obviously new purple winter coat, with a matching knit hat, which Mike hangs on a coat hook for her. Underneath she has a pair of lightly worn jeans and a well loved red and green Christmas sweater.

While Hopper and Joyce sort out what he's added to the menagerie, Mike and El rejoin the game, now holding hands. There are more hugs all around, and an awkward handshake between El and Max.

"Hopper said we were going to get a tree," El informs them with a smile. "But then we came here."

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Mike tells her, grinning like a happy fool.

"More like Mike wanted it to be a surprise," Lucas says under his breath, but loud enough that everyone can hear.

Mike shoots him a glare, and the others try to hold back their laughter. El just squeezes his hand, a light dust of pink on her cheeks.

"What's this?" El asks, changing the subject by pointing the hopelessly one-sided game of dragon chess.

"It's called dragon chess, I was just creaming Dustin at it before you got here," Mike tells her, just short of having hearts in his eyes, not even looking at the board. He manages to catch himself before she notices, though obviously Max notices because she coughs to bring him back to reality. "I just need to do this, and then I win."

Mike makes the final crushing move, putting Dustin's king in checkmate.

"It looks like fun," El observes, picking up one of the sylph pieces. "Could you teach me?"

"Yeah, definitely," Mike agrees, open to any excuse to spend more time with her. "But why don't we go check out the Christmas tree first?"

El's face lights up at the mention of the tree.

"Here, put this on," Will tells her, handing her a blindfold. "We'll walk you over, we just want it to be a big surprise."

She ties the cloth around her eyes, grasping Mike's hand a little tighter now. They slowly walk into the dining room, where there was more space to put the tree. With a small turn she's in perfect position.

"Okay, I'm gonna take the blindfold off," Will says, reaching up and pinching the top edge of the cloth. With a single yank upwards he removes the blindfold, and El opens her eyes.

They immediately go wide in wonder as she takes in the big tree, fully decorated with lights, ornaments, and tinsel. At the top of the tree is a star, also lit up, which seems to draw most of her attention.

The closest one to her is Mike, so she hugs him first, and the longest. She even hugs him again after everyone else has a turn, but he doesn't complain. When she finally pulls back, her arms still on Mike's shoulders and his still on her sides, he sees the tears in her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" He asks in concern, but she shakes her head, letting a few tears fly off her head in the process.

"It's perfect," She says, choking up a little. "Thank you."

With that she embraces him again, a big smile plastered on everyone's faces. Her reaction was better than anything they'd been expecting, even Mike.

It ends when Hopper clears his throat at the loudest possible volume. El breaks off slowly, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, her other hand silently slipping into Mike's. For his part, Mike's face is bright red again, realizing how long they'd been standing there.

"We're going to wait until Nancy and Jonathan get here before we eat and do presents," He informs the kids. "I assume you can keep yourselves amused until they get here?"

"Affirmative captain!" Dustin responds with a mock salute. The Chief just sighs, shakes his head, and goes back to the kitchen where Joyce is pouring out some eggnog for the both of them.

While the kids migrate back to the living room, arguing about what games to play, and ultimately deciding on Max's suggestion of would-you-rather, Joyce and Hopper take a few minutes to relax in the kitchen.

"I don't know how you can stand to have so many kids around all the time," Hopper comments, downing half the eggnog in a single gulp.

"They're not so bad, I've just had a lot more time with them," Joyce responds, sipping her drink more slowly. "You'll warm up to them."

"I'm not so sure," Hopper mutters, rubbing his temples as the volume starts to rise in the other room, only for Max to silence it. "I might end up shooting one of them pretty soon, they're just...grr."

He can't even find the words to finish the sentence, but he holds his hands out to strangle the air in front of him.

"This is about Mike and Eleven, isn't it?" Joyce observes.

"That's a definite part of it," He grumbles, downing another gulp of eggnog. "He's the biggest headache of the lot, he even shows up at the station. She's too young for boys, and she has too much studying to do to catch up for next year."

Joyce puts a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiles.

"You and I both know that last part is an excuse," She tells him. "She's gone from no reading level at all to fifth grade in a year, and she's only getting better every day. She caught up to six grade in math and science in a month, and she's almost done with fifth grade history. Her studying is going more than fine, and it's only gotten better since you told her she could be in high school next year."

"That doesn't mean she needs to be thinking about boys," Hopper insists.

"She's always been thinking about boys, one boy in particular," Joyce retorts. "And he's always thinking about her too. The entire year we thought she was dead, he called her every night, even when he was over here. He thought nobody noticed because he went outside after Will was asleep, but I heard him. He missed her more than anything in the world."

"He's still a boy, Joyce," Hopper says after downing the last of his glass. "I know what boys that age are like, I was the same way when I was younger."

"He's not like you were, Hop," Joyce responds, setting her cup down and crossing her arms. "He's definitely not a football jock like you were, he's almost a carbon copy of... of Bob."

She hesitates with that last point, turning away to grab a tissue and wipe her eyes. Hopper's expression softens, gently pulling her into a hug. They stay like that for a while, the only sound coming from the game in the living room.

"Sorry about that," Joyce says, breaking away. "It's just... He looks at her like she hung the stars in the sky, like she's the only girl on the planet. You should give him a chance, Hop, he deserves that much."

Her tone is much different, wavering a lot more than before. Hopper just sighs.

"Alright, fine, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt," He tells her, leaning back against the counter. "She hasn't stopped talking about him since the Snowball, I was ready to rip my ears off if I heard 'Mike' this or 'Mike' that again. Maybe now she'll finally stop."

"Now what?" Joyce question, wiping away the last traces of tears from her eyes.

"A Christmas present for the two of them," He answers, though he doesn't seem entirely happy about it. "Mike can visit the cabin, on weekends only."

Joyce lets out a half chuckle, a smile flirting across her lips.

"What's so funny?" Hopper asks.

"I'm just hoping your couch is comfortable, for his sake," She replies. "You're not gonna be able to get rid of him until Sunday night."

"Don't make me change my mind," Hopper warns her, turning to pour himself another glass of eggnog.

Joyce opens her mouth to say something else, but light floods through the front of the house then, signalling their last arrivals. It cuts out quickly, and then Jonathan and Nancy come in out of the flurrying snow.

"Sorry we're late, I got stuck on overtime," Jonathan apologizes.

"But we brought dessert!" Nancy announces, revealing a Christmas themed cake from under her coat. "It's an ice cream cake!"

There is a chorus of cheering from the living room while Joyce goes to hug her son. Hopper takes the cake from Nancy to go in the freezer, eyeing a box of eggos with a bow on it with a suspicious gaze. It has 'Mike' written all over it.

"Alright everyone, time for dinner!" Joyce says, to more excited cheers.

One by one, or really mob by mob, everyone gets a plate and silverware, and they take as much food from the veritable buffet as possible. El just stands there staring at the different selections, not knowing what any of them are.

"See anything you like?" Mike asks, his plate loaded with a little of everything.

"I don't know," She tells him, her eyes aimlessly drifting from dish to dish.

Mike seems to understand, starting to describe each dish one by one, and letting her try some the ones that sound good to her off his plate. In the end she gets some of the stew Dustin's mom made, green beans, a baked potato piled high with toppings, and some alfredo pasta.

Dinner is the least formal affair of the night, everyone finding whatever seat they can in the living room. Mike and El sit side by side on the floor, plates carefully balanced on their knees.

Once they've devoured most of the food Mrs. Byers and Nancy set out the dessert, cutting the cake into pieces for everyone. El takes a tentative bite, her eyes going wide before she takes another much bigger one. Mike grins and chuckles at her, wiping a little icing from the tip of her nose when she smiles back.

"Okay, now that everyone is stuffed to the brim," Joyce announces as they all finish up their desserts. "It's time for presents!"

El cheers, getting up and rushing over to one of the bags Hopper had carried in with him. She pulls out a plastic bag and starts handing out the contents, handmade cards, decorated with buttons, glitter, and all manner of other things. When she gets to Mike's she turns a little pink.

Mike immediately out does her when he sees the inside, a stick figure drawing of the two of them under what has to be a mistletoe. He turns a bright enough red to be a traffic light, but that doesn't stop him from hugging her.

"Thanks El, I love it," He says, and Joyce gives Hopper a knowing smile at the unspoken words after that. He just rolls his eyes, but doesn't comment.

"I got something for you too," Mike continues, breaking away from the hug. He rushes away to Will's room, grabbing the poorly wrapped gift, the handmade card, and making a detour to the kitchen on the way back to grab the box of eggos.

El's eyes light up when she sees the box of eggos, practically jumping for joy when Mike hands them to her. She beams at the card, a poorly drawn Christmas tree on the front in crayon, but when he holds out the gift though, it's like she's reached a happiness overload.

She tears the wrapping paper off to reveal the supercom, eliciting several gasps from Dustin, Lucas, and Will. El tackle hugs him again, her eyes tearing up once again. Hopper doesn't even make an effort to clear his throat this time, letting them have their moment.

"It's amazing," She says when they break apart, tearing her eyes away from Mike's to look at the gift.

"Now you can talk to us from the cabin," Mike tells her, as if she can get more excited about the gift. "It's the extended range model, so it should have no problem sending out a signal from all the way out there."

"It's just whether or not ours will be able to pick up the response," Dustin comments. "And you can just do your whole psychic listening thing to hear what we're saying since we have the crummy short range ones."

"Dang Mike, where'd you get that kind of money?" Lucas asks, eyeing the shiny new walkie talkie with some envy.

"I did a lot of yard work this month," Mike answers. "And I owe Nancy five dollars, but it's totally worth it"

El just grins as he shows her how the different buttons work, the other supercoms crackling to life once they get the right channel. Joyce nudges Hopper in the ribs again, to which he rolls his eyes.

"Alright, I guess this is as good a time as any," Hopper announces, getting everyone's attention. "I've got a gift for the both of you."

Mike just kind of stands there, too surprised to say anything, but El's excitement just keeps coming.

"Against my better judgement," He starts, getting another elbow to the ribs from Joyce. "I'll let you start visiting the cabin, but only on weekends."

He adds the last part even more sternly, but anything else he says is drowned out by El's joyous shout, finally knocking Mike the ground with the force of her hug.

"Hey, don't make me change my mind already!" Hopper exclaims, his voice cutting through to the two teenagers. "There are some more rules to talk about, but we can do that later."

Once they finally manage to sit back up everyone else starts to bring their gifts over. Steve and Dustin collectively got her the first two Star Wars films on VHS, as well as a matching t-shirt for each. Max and Lucas banded together to get her Ghostbusters, along with another t-shirt and a hat to match.

Will gave her a set of crayons and a sketchbook of her own, as well as a couple drawings of the party with their D&D personas. He promised her that he would give her an updated version once she and Max officially made characters.

Jonathan gifts her a small polaroid camera, getting her solemn promise that she would get a lot of good shots for the future.

Joyce and Nancy spring the surprise on her, as well as Max, that they would be going out for a girl's day sometime soon, once its safe to be out in public, to get El some new clothes of her own. They would get some quality girl time together, something she sorely needs after so long with only Hopper for company.

To his credit, Hopper gives her a small radio to put in her room so she can listen to it when he gets too annoying.

Once all the presents are set out Joyce turns on the radio to a Christmas station, filling the little house with music. El is the first to get up to dance, dragging Mike with her as Jingle Bell Rock starts to pick up. The others quickly follow suit, dancing carefree in the limited space of the living room.

When Let It Snow comes on the dancing slows down, the couples and the almost couples getting together to dance together for a few minutes. Even Hopper joins in when Joyce drags him off the couch.

The highlight of the song comes when a stalk of asparagus flots into the room over Mike and El as they dance.

"Is that asparagus?" Dustin questions, standing off to the side with Will and Steve.

"I saw it on the tv," El answers sheepishly, her cheeks turning a little pink. "They hung a little plant."

"I think you're looking for mistletoe," Steve tells her. "If you get caught under the mistletoe with someone you have to kiss."

El turns even more pink as he explains it, though she already knew that part. She leans her head against Mike's shoulder to hide her blush, sending the asparagus back where it came from to the amusement of everyone else.

"Hey El," Mike whispers to her a few moment later, getting her to look up.

When she sees him looking up she does the same, seeing a little plant tied with a red ribbon at the end of a string above them. Holding it up there with fishing line on a stick is none other than Dustin, taking it out from his duffel bag of wonders.

Hopper looks like he wants to say something, but Joyce steps on his foot for good measure. He grumbles something, turning away from the two teens.

El blushes again as Mike leans closer, closing her eyes and tilting her head a little to the side. When their lips touch, just for a tentative moment, electricity tingles through them for the third time ever. They both move back a little, each hesitant to do more, but Mike finally musters the courage to give her a real kiss.

Everything seems to disappear around them when their lips touch, as if it never existed to begin with. All either of them care about in that moment is right in front of them. For a minute nothing else in the world matters except that they're finally together, they finally have each other.

It takes all of Hopper's self control not to separate them, though Joyce's staying hand does help. When they finally do separate their lips they seem to come back to reality, both turning a fiery red to a chorus of fake kissing sounds from their friends around them.

The song plays its final note soon after, and the dancing partners break apart as more lively music comes on.

"Why don't we watch a movie?" Joyce suggests to lighten the mood for them.

They finally decide on watching the classic 'A Christmas Carol', with Mike explaining the different ghosts to El as they come.

By the end Will is already asleep, and everyone else is well on their way, except for Hopper and Joyce. The boys and Max start to set up their sleeping bags and El gives Hopper a hopeful look.

"Go on, I'll pick you up in the morning," He tells her with a sigh, no energy left to try to argue with her.

She lets out an excited squeal, running to tell the others, who help her make a bed out of blankets. She chooses the spot closest to Mike, Max on her other side.

Hopper leaves before the bedding is fully done, before he can see the two of them move their bedding closer and closer until they're practically on top of each other.

Steve crashes on the couch and Nancy steals Will's room for the night as Joyce makes a few calls to parents, getting caught in conversation by both Mike and Dustin's mothers for almost twenty minutes each. By the time she's done all of them are fast asleep, so she carefully weaves her way through them to turn off the lamps around the room.

She stops for a second when she hears El let out a soft groan in her sleep, and when she turns to look she sees her expression tighten. When the sound repeats again she goes to start toward her, only for Mike's hand to reach out and touch her arm. The boy himself is still asleep, but the touch seems to make El feel better, her expression softening again.

Joyce smiles and grabs her own polaroid off the end table. By the time she turns back to them El has moved even closer, right up against Mike's chest, Mike's arm wrapped around her protectively. She snaps a couple shots of the adorable scene, one for her, one for Hopper, and one for each of the two teens to have.

Joyce turns off the last of the lights, the smile still on her face as she goes to sleep in her own room, the pictures sitting on her nightstand with the camera.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed, this was just supposed to be some happy fun times for the kids. I had the idea for this after writing my other story, No More, which was just depressing, so I needed to write something happy.

I'll be doing a bunch of holidays and significant moments, leading up to the next year, so if there's anything specific you want to see, let me know. If it isn't already on the list I'll add it. Right now the list stands at: Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, a mystery surprise, summer break, 4th of July, something for end of summer, and then the start of school.


	2. Chapter 2: New Year

Hello again everyone, I'm glad you could make it

Like I said in the last chapter, there are a bunch of fluffy filler chapters before we get to the season 3 part of the story. For the list, see the author's note at the end. Hope you all enjoy

* * *

Hopper was not as joyed by the picture Joyce gave him the morning after the party as she was hoping. Mike and El received no end of grief from their friends about how they ended up cuddling, but Mike received a special glower from the Chief that morning. It was only Joyce's private explanation of what had happened that stopped Hopper from murdering Mike sheerly out of fatherly instinct.

For the next week Mike was never without his supercom, even when he was out shoveling snow around the neighborhood. It snowed three times that week, so his efforts were quite fruitful, though his arms may never forgive him for it. Any time he heard it start to crackle he would put down whatever he was doing to talk to El, even if it was only for a few minutes to tell her he had to finish shoveling first.

On Christmas, El received her gifts from Santa Claus, as well as a whole host of donations from Mike and Nancy. Their selfless giving spirit had prompted their mother to raise Nancy's allowance, let Mike have his allowance back, and even let him have his Atari, despite his english grade still being a C+ instead of a B-.

That Saturday Mike is over at the cabin first thing in the morning, a couple old books in his backpack, as well some D&D supplies. He does the new special knock he and Hopper had agreed on, the morse code for El.

He doesn't hear anything from the other side, though that may be because his heart is beating at a thousand miles per hour, threatening to leap out of his chest altogether. After a few moments the locks start to click open on the other side, and then the door opens, Hopper looming in the doorway.

"You took the detour?" He asks, looking out at the woods behind the boy. "And walked your bike up in the tire tracks?""

"Yes sir," Mike answers nervously.

It takes another moment before Hopper steps out of the way. Mike knocks his shoes against the door frame so he won't track the snow inside and then scurries past the much larger man.

"You can come out now!" Hopper calls as he shuts the door.

One of the three doors inside the cabin opens slowly while Mike puts his backpack down. He only has enough time to stand up straight again before he gets tackled to the floor in a hug.

"Mike!" El exclaims as she runs at him, holding him as tightly as possible on the ground. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Mike tells her, hugging her back.

Hopper lets them have a few moments before clearing his throat, still standing right by the door. El looks up when he does it, but doesn't get off of Mike just yet.

"I'll be in my office," He says, giving Mike a pointed look. "No funny business."

He walks past them, going through one of the two doors that are still closed and closing it again behind him.

"El, um, can I get up?" Mike asks after another few moments.

El blushes pink, quickly getting up. Mike does the same, shrugging his coat off and hanging it by the door next to Hopper's and El's.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Mike questions, looking around the small cabin where she'd been living almost an entire year now.

She smiles, grabbing his hand and starting with a tour of the cabin. She proudly describes how she and Hopper had cleaned it all up, and how she's put up some decorations in her room from Santa Claus. The picture of her and Mike is proudly displayed on her bedside table, leaning against her lamp.

They spend hours going through the new collection of books she'd gotten, playing a few hand-me-down board games, designing her D&D mage so she can join in on a campaign in the future, and watching television and just talking.

El has a special addiction to watching soaps while eating eggos, something she'd obviously been doing for a long time now as she can explain enough about them to get Mike up to date. They sit together under a blanket on the couch, munching on eggos and watching shows Mike would never have picked for himself.

At around six o'clock Hopper goes to get a pizza for the three of them, further emphasizing his point of 'no funny business' while he's gone. The concept continues to go over El's head, but Mike seems sufficiently terrified by the silent threat for Hopper's liking.

They sit on the couch with their pizza, watching El's Ghostbusters tape, apparently her third time watching it that week.

"Are you guys coming to the New Year's Eve party at the Byers' this year?" Mike asks, breaking the silence about halfway through.

"I'm considering it," Hopper answers through a mouthful of pizza. "But it's a Monday night, I might be at the station."

"What's New Year's Eve?" El questions, looking between Mike and Hopper.

"It's the night before the new year starts," Mike explains, and then realizes how inadequate that explanation really is. "It's the last day of the year, December 31st. When the clock hits midnight it won't be 1984 anymore, it'll be 1985."

"Why is there a party?" El continues. "Are there more presents?"

"No, no presents," Mike answers, and her hopeful smile turns into a little pout. "But you get to stay up until midnight with your friends, and count down to the new year while the ball drops on tv."

Her confused face is enough for him to keep going.

"When it gets to the last ten seconds of the year everyone starts to count down to one, and when it gets to zero that means it's the new year," He elaborates. "As for the whole ball drop thing, I'm not really sure, it's just a tradition."

She nods, starting to understand, and takes another bite of pizza. She stays mostly quiet for the remainder of the movie, setting her plate on the little coffee table when she's done eating and wraps her arm through Mike's to lean on his shoulder.

By the time the movie is done she's asleep, a happy little smile ghosting her lips. Hopper gets up and takes the tape out of the player, putting it back in the box.

"Alright kid, I think it's time for you to go home," He says, looking from El's sleeping form to the scrawny teenager. "Come back tomorrow if you want, but I'm making it a study day for her."

Mike sighs, but doesn't argue. However, when he goes to move the blanket and extricate himself from El's grasp, he discovers something very important.

He can't move.

Hopper gives him a puzzled look, looking at the strain on the boy's face without seeing any results come out of it.

"I can't move," Mike finally tells him, his voice suddenly high and strained. Aside from his head, his whole body is frozen in place.

"I'll be damned," Hopper says, slightly impressed. "Dr. Owens was right, her powers are acting up in her sleep."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike demands, getting more hysterical by the second as he remains locked in place.

"You'll be fine," Hopper answers calmly, probably holding back a laugh. "According to the doc, ever since she was ten her powers sometimes flare up in her sleep. I've never seen it happen before, so I didn't believe him, but he was right."

After that he can't hold back the laugh any longer, though it just leaves Mike confused instead of hysterical.

"He said it's unlikely to cause damage if it's in her sleep, so you'll be fine in the morning," He explains. "Just don't wake her up, that could make something bad happen, or so he says. I guess you'll have to stay here tonight after all, so get comfortable. I'll call your mom for you."

With that he leaves Mike alone to be telekinetically frozen on the couch, the psychic girl causing it still sleeping peacefully on the boy's arm. It takes a little longer for Mike to calm down, still trying to move his fingers at least, to no avail. He finally stops his struggle when Hopper starts dialing the phone.

Mike pretends to have fallen asleep, not too difficult when he can't move anything but his head, while listening in on the conversation.

"Hi Mrs. Wheeler, this is Jim Hopper," the Chief says after a few moments. "I just wanted to let you know where Mike is. It looks like he and my daughter fell asleep on the couch when we were watching a movie, so I'll just let him spend the night."

He hesitates for a split-second before saying 'daughter', but covers it up well. There's a bit of silence as Mrs. Wheeler responds.

"It's no trouble, he's been pretty helpful," Hopper continues. "It gets a little lonely here for her, homeschooling and all, so it's good for her to get some company. And before I forget, thank you for the book donations that Nancy dropped off at the station this week."

More silence, this one longer than the first.

"Yeah, it was a big decision to adopt," He says, trailing off a little before he can add 'after Sara'. "She's had some trouble in the past, but that's over now. We're getting her caught up so she can go to high school in the fall, and now she almost never stops talking about the new friends she's made in Hawkins."

Another stretch of silence, and if Mike could shudder he probably would. He knows better than most how his mother can talk people's ears off.

"I'm not sure when she'll be doing lots of visits to other people, I'm trying to ease her into everything," He replies, probably to her asking when she can meet El. "Joyce comes by every once in awhile to talk to her about girl stuff, and now it looks like Mike's going to be moving onto the couch on the weekends, so we'll see how that goes for now."

The next silence is cut short, Hopper finally having had enough of the small talk.

"Listen, Karen, I'd love to stay and chat, but I can hear my police radio going off in the other room," He lies, the cabin completely silent otherwise, pausing again afterward. "It's no trouble at all. Alright, okay, bye."

He hangs up the phone and groans, palming his face in annoyance.

"You owe me for that one, kid," He says, though he doesn't even turn to look in their direction before going into his little office.

Mike does his best not to mull over what he overheard, trying to relax and fall asleep despite being frozen. On the bright side, Hopper can't force them to separate for the night because they're telekinetically glued together, so the last thing he sees before he finally falls asleep is El's sleeping, smiling face.

XxX

The next morning Mike wakes up just before El, relieved to find that he can move his body again.

"Morning," El says, snuggling a little closer to his side instead of sitting up.

"Good morning," Mike responds, still enjoying his freedom of motion.

"Is something wrong?" She asks as he just stares at his hand, moving his fingers around as much as he can.

"It's just good to be able to move," He answers, his focus not on El for once. She gives him a quizzical look, but just shrugs when he keeps doing it.

Once Mike finally stops obsessing over his hand he turns to El and kisses her on the forehead. She blushes pink, looking down at her lap and smiling, but her face turns a bright red at the same time.

"So, uh, did you sleep well?" He asks, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Better than normal," She tells him, moving ever closer still.

She leans in and plants a kiss on his cheek, making him turn an even deeper shade of red, practically glowing.

It only gets worse for Mike when Hopper's door opens and he comes in.

"Oh good, you're both awake," He says. If he notices the both of them blushing he doesn't comment. "I have to go to the station for a little while, so you'll have to work out your own breakfasts."

El just nods, trying to hide her blush from her adoptive father.

"And after you eat, hit the books," He continues, walking over and grabbing his coat. "Mike can stay to tutor for a little while, but his mom wants him home for dinner today."

"Yay!" El exclaims, hugging Mike again.

Hopper gives Mike 'the look', which he understands well by now. Once he's gone El drags him up to get breakfast. To her that means putting four Eggos in the toaster, and then two on each plate. For Mike, he feels slightly more responsible at the moment.

El gives him a questioning look when he sets the plate down and goes to the fridge. He takes out the carton of eggs and a box of frozen sausages, eyeing the pitiful contents of the fridge warily.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," He says as she watches. "So we need to eat more than just Eggos."

"Why?" El asks, looking down at her toasted waffles.

"It's all about having a balanced meal," Mike explains, taking out a couple eggs. "For breakfast that means carbs, protein, and maybe some fruit."

El just looks more confused.

"Those are food terms that you'll learn soon," He continues. "And you can start eating the Eggos if you want. These'll only take a minute."

Mike proceeds to amaze, both El and himself, by making enough scrambled eggs for the both of them and getting the sausages up to temperature. El watches, happily munching on her Eggos, and even stealing part of Mike's.

When he's done he dishes it out onto the two plates and they sit down at the table. He adds a little salt and pepper to his own, which she mimics. El's face lights up with the addition, or maybe just because Mike made it.

"Did you take a bite out of my waffle?" Mike asks when he finally goes to eat one. El can't hold back her giggling when he holds it up, a big bite missing from the edge of the Eggo.

Mike just sighs, accepting the fate of his Eggo and hands it over, much to El's delight. Once they finish eating El telekinetically clears the table.

"I'll never get tired of seeing that," He murmurs as she does it. To her credit, El just blushes at the compliment.

El breaks out her mess of textbooks and packets donated from various sources. They're loosely organized by subject, but Mike helps her get them in grade level order. She picks up one about science, sixth grade level earth science.

This is Mike's area of expertise, all things math, science, and technology. For hours they sit on the couch together, going through the different levels of the earth, from the core to the exosphere, how the crust is always changing, biomes on the earth's surface, and how convection works in the mantle.

They take a break for lunch, El making more Eggos, and Mike insisting on adding some nutritional benefit to her day. Once they're done, however, Mike peeks through one of the curtains.

"I wish we could go out in the snow," He says with a smile. "We could build snowmen, and make snow angels."

"Snowmen?" El questions, peering out the curtain as well.

"It's something you build with your friends in the snow," Mike explains. "You take three really big snowballs, the biggest one goes on the bottom, then the middle, and the smallest one goes on the top. You put some little rocks in for eyes and a mouth, and some sticks for arms, and it kind of looks like a person made of snow."

"That sounds like fun," She agrees, though a little downcast.

"What's wrong?" Mike asks, letting the curtain fall back into place.

"I'm not supposed to go outside," She answers, looking down at her feet.

"Aw, don't be sad," Mike tells her, hugging her yet again. "We'll build a snowman together soon, I promise."

"Promise?" She repeats, looking up at him.

He holds out his pinky to her and she takes it, sealing their promise.

They return to their studying, El still having some trouble grasping the difference between atmospheric layers. Hopper gets back around three in the afternoon, looking quite tired.

Mike waits for him to take his coat and hat off, and move to the kitchen for a beer, before he decides to confront him. He leaves Eleven to look over the explanatory diagram again, going to the kitchen as well.

"What is it this time?" Hopper asks before Mike can say anything.

"Oh, well, umm," He starts, already nervously spluttering.

"Just spit it out already," Hopper tells him with a sigh. "It's been a long day, I'm tired."

"Well, I was wondering," Mike continues, still grasping for the right words. "If El and I could, um, go outside to make a snowman?"

He clams up right after, biting his lip nervously. Hopper sighs, rubbing his face, though whether it's in agitation or exhaustion Mike can't tell.

"A snowman?" He repeats, as if he can't believe the request.

"Just some fun in the snow," Mike answers, his voice cracking halfway through and settling a pitch higher.

Hopper sighs again, opens the beer in his hand, takes a long swig, and then fixes Mike with 'the look' once again.

"You get one hour," Hopper says sternly. "No traipsing off into the woods, you stay where I can see you from the windows."

Mike's apprehension turns to joy, a big grin breaking out on his face.

"Th-thank you," He manages to stutter out before racing back to El.

El lets out a squeal when she hears the news, the textbook slamming shut and floating onto the table as she throws off the blanket. She hugs Mike with enough force to turn him around, though he keeps his balance this time.

When she lets go they put on all the snow gear they have, and El looks like a happy purple marshmallow in her coat and hat, bringing out matching gloves. The locks all fly open, the door not far behind, and she races out of it, Mike in tow.

Hopper almost cracks a smile, going to shut the door. The very first thing El does in the snow is start throwing it up in the air, separating it into big flakes and little clumps that fall back around her like snow. Hopper makes one last check around the outside of the cabin before shutting the door.

"It's so pretty," El observes, holding a big pile in her hands. "I never really looked at it like this before."

Mike just smiles at her child-like enthusiasm. El takes the time to just run back and forth, picking up and scattering handfuls of snow, until she slips and falls on her back. Mike rushes over to her, but she just laughs.

"It's slippery," She comments, holding out her hand, but Mike stops her.

"This is the perfect time for your first snow angel," He tells her. "All you have to do is hold your arms out to your sides, and then move your arms and legs back and forth through the snow."

El gives him a quizzical look, but does what he suggests. After a minute Mike tells her she can stop and helps her up again. El marvels at her imprint in the snow.

"Snow angel," She breathes, her gloved hand finding Mike's.

"And now we can build the snowman," Mike informs her, and she starts to get really excited again.

He makes the first snowball for her, showing her how to roll it around to pick up more snow. Together they make a really big ball of snow, as tall as their knees.

Mike tasks her with making the middle ball, smaller than the first one, to go on top. Meanwhile he makes the smallest one, also the quickest to put together.

When El finishes her creation it's still almost up to their knees, far too big for either of them to lift up. El solves the problem by floating it up on top of the first. Mike makes a small addition to his last piece, reaching up to put it on the top.

Mike's orb is about level with their heads, the perfect size for them to decorate. The two of them hunt through the snow for pebbles and sticks, finding just enough to make a passable face and give it arms.

They stand back and admire their creation, their hands finding each other. That soon turns to an embrace, in which they start to move closer, and closer.

Until Hopper opens the cabin door again, making both of them turn red.

"Hour's up, time to come inside," He says with his signature look.

They don't try to argue, proud of their snowman. The warmth of the cabin is welcome after the hour in the cold, and they return to their tutoring session under the blanket.

After another few hours Hopper comes back once again, reminding them that Mike is supposed to be home for dinner. They have a heartfelt goodbye with more hugging, Mike giving her a kiss on the forehead, and them almost having a normal kiss, if it weren't for dad-Hopper.

Mike walks his bike away from the cabin, past the snowman that now stands sentinel outside. El watches him through the curtain, a small smile on her face.

XxX

The actual party is a small affair, with the same group as Christmas. The kids bring their own games to play, Lucas showing off a few card tricks he'd learned from his relatives at Christmas. Mike starts to teach El how dragon chess works, and Will sets his efforts on drawing El's mage character. Dustin and Lucas work with Max to make a Zoomer, something Mike has to have a direct hand in as well, being the Dungeon Master after all.

El is amazed by the whole process of them going back and forth, arguing about different points, discussing abilities, and ultimately getting too annoyed to continue. It's decided that for the time being, Max will play as a cavalier instead, giving her a mount to work with.

As it gets later Will and El are the first ones to get tired, though that's nothing unexpected. El normally has to be asleep by ten, strictly enforced by Hopper. Will is just normally the first one asleep of the group, despite his best efforts.

Joyce puts the times square countdown on, filling the room with sounds of celebration and music. Max and Lucas lean against the wall, trying to out do each other with Christmas relatives. Dustin is trying, and failing, to explain the basics of D&D to Steve, while Jonathan and Nancy go to Jonathan's room for some quiet time. Joyce and Hopper stand in the kitchen, sharing beer and a cigarette while they wait for the countdown. Mike and El sit on the couch together, Will on the other end still trying to work on his drawing.

El yawns, stretches like a cat, and lays down, putting her head in Mike's lap and closing her eyes. Seeing her starting to fall asleep, Mike gently shakes her.

"Come on El, there's only fifteen minutes left," He tells her, to which she just tiredly groans. "You have to stay up for the countdown."

"Why?" She complains, opening her eyes to stare up at him.

"Because, it's tradition to count down the last seconds of the year," He explains, though he isn't very convincing.

"He wants you to stay up so he can kiss you at midnight," Will interjects, not looking up from his coloring. "He left that part of the tradition out."

Mike turns red in embarrassment, but doesn't try to deny it.

"I'll get you for this, Byers, just watch," Mike threatens, which makes Will burst out laughing, having to finally put the crayons down.

"We get to kiss at midnight?" El asks, still looking up at Mike.

Mike just nods sheepishly, still embarrassed. El sits up and kisses him on the cheek, making him turn an even darker shade. Will just giggles at the other end of the couch, getting a half-glare from Mike.

As the minutes wear down everyone gathers back in the living room around the tv, waiting for the countdown. Will, Mike, and El stand up with everyone else when it hits the one minute mark.

When they start counting down from ten El joins in enthusiastically, if not in full understanding. As they reach the end she turns to Mike, who kisses her with as much enthusiasm as she had for the countdown when it reaches zero.

Hopper sees and opens his mouth to say something, but Joyce pulls him down to her level for a kiss as well. Jonathan and Nancy have the most romantic kiss in the room, not too excited, not forced, and definitely not with the dumbfounded look that Lucas has when Max kisses him.

When Mike and El move apart to breathe they're both grinning from ear to ear, their foreheads resting against each other. Hopper cracks a small smile from his kiss, his overprotectiveness forgotten for the moment.

For their part, Will, Dustin, and Steve blow the party horns and pop the little streamer and confetti things. Steve gives Nancy a sidelong glance, but nobody seems to notice, and he quickly turns his attention back to the celebration.

"Welcome to 1985 everybody!" He announces proudly.

He gets a collective 'woo' from the room, and Joyce adds that she has some sparkling cider for everyone to enjoy. She passes it around until everyone has some, but the excitement in the room is quickly being overcome by exhaustion.

By the time they finish their cider, Will and El are practically falling asleep again. Hopper gives his grudging approval for El to stay the night, giving Mike 'the look'. He stays long enough to see the kids set up their sleeping bags, and restrains himself from saying something when El's pillows and blankets practically overlap with Mike's sleeping bag.

Joyce drags him to the kitchen while the kids finish setting up and getting ready for bed, giving him a look of her own before his restraint runs out.

"You saw the picture from Christmas," She starts. "And I told you what happened."

"That doesn't mean I want her sharing a bed with him every time they're around each other," Hopper retorts. "She'll start thinking it's normal and then he'll get ideas in his head."

"We talked about this, Hopper," Joyce responds insistently. "If you asked him to cut out a kidney for her, he'd do it. The last thing he's going to do is take advantage of her."

"Excuse me if I have less faith in his control of his hormones," Hopper replies, rolling his eyes. "I haven't said a single thing to them all night."

"You were going to," Joyce points out. "Don't even try lying to me about that."

"She's my daughter," Hopper retorts. "I've got a lot of years of parenting to catch up on, so sue me if I'm a little overprotective."

Joyce smiles and lays a hand on his arm.

"I know that," She tells him gently. "But you don't have to protect her from them. They're her friends, they want to protect her just as much as you do."

"If I say yes, will that be the end of these conversations?" Hopper asks, letting out another of his famous sighs.

"We'll see," Joyce answers.

Hopper just shakes his head, putting his hat back on his head to leave. He looks over the living room, the floor almost entirely covered by sleeping bags and blankets now, his gaze settling on his adopted daughter.

She's right up against Mike, their bodies facing each other, his arm protectively over her. Her face is peaceful, something he doesn't see too often when she sleeps. Normally she only sleeps a few hours at a time, waking up from bad dreams, something Hopper is well accustomed to.

Hopper's routine involves getting up around two in the morning every day, around the time her dreams start to reach their peak. He'd force himself out of bed, wait to see if she wakes up again, and inevitably knock on her door. If she chooses to let him in he'd sit with her until she could sleep again, which normally meant sleeping in the chair beside her bed for the rest of the night. Sometimes it would happen again later on, but it's become a second nature to give her something to hold onto, normally his hand, to feel safer.

Now, she looks perfectly calm, happy even. He sighs again, not liking how Joyce always seems to be right about these things. The woman herself comes up beside him, putting a silent finger to her lips so they don't wake the kids again.

Hopper gives her a hug goodbye and a friendly kiss on the cheek, to which she does the same. He doesn't say anything, but she knows what he realized, whether he'll ever admit to it or not.

* * *

Well, that was nice.

My friends have been sending me dozens of Stranger Things memes that they think I should add to my stories since they found out I'm writing this, so if you can pick out the little bits and pieces that have meme-influence then kudos to you.

Just for reference, I don't know how often I'll be able to update this story. I'm currently writing about Spring Break, so I have a little buffer zone, but I've had no time to write anything at all these last few weeks. Once my schedule clears up a little I'll be able to put more time into writing this.

Right now the list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day

To Do- Spring Break, a mystery surprise, summer break, 4th of July, something for end of summer, and then the start of school.

If there are any requests for other interim chapters, feel free to let me know, I love writing these smaller kinds of things.

Until next time


	3. Chapter 3: Valentine's Day

Greetings, and welcome to the latest installment of Number Games!

Sorry this took so long to post. I've had so many problems get in the way of me getting this up, and for once it wasn't even trying to write it. I had this chapter written days ago, I just couldn't post it.

I know I said these would all be fluffy filler chapters, but I will be starting to sprinkle in some character development and setting up for future plot lines, so some parts of these chapters might get more serious. The focus is still on fluff for now though, so don't worry.

Now that that's taken care of, I present to you a Mileven Valentine's Day...

* * *

"So Mike, any big plans for this Thursday?" Max asks as the party circles the track outside for gym.

"What's on Thursday?" Dustin questions, looking between her and Mike in confusion. Lucas and Will just shake their heads.

"It's Valentine's Day," Lucas tells him, and Dustin's face explodes into realization.

Mike sighs, still having no idea what to do for El. Every plan he can come up with involves breaking one of Hopper's rules.

"Did you get her anything?" Will adds, snapping his friend back to reality.

"I actually convinced Mr. Clarke to help me make her something," Mike answers, getting a little smile on his face. "An Eggo pendant for a necklace."

"Aww, that's actually really sweet," Max responds, showing her girly side for once, though she fights it down when Lucas gives her a strange look.

"So..." Dustin says. "You're making her a tiny metal waffle that she can't eat."

Two kinds of people.

"What about you, Lucas?" Mike asks, shrugging off Dustin's response and redirecting the conversation.

"What about me?" The boys in question responds.

"You and Max doing something special?" Dustin teases.

Max says nothing, but the faint tinge of pink on her face speaks volumes.

"I'll be keeping that to myself, thank you very much," Lucas answers.

The other boys give him no end of teasing for the rest of the day about it, but he stays adamant in not telling them anything. When the bell rings to end the school day Mike bids them farewell as they leave, staying behind to work on the gift.

"She must really like waffles," Mr. Clarke comments as he and Mike set up the equipment in the wood shop.

The actual metal is a lead-free solder, something Mike could afford to buy, though it was one of the more expensive ones. Unfortunately it only came by the spool, but it would give him plenty left over for future projects.

The mold for the metal is made of fired clay, something Mike had spent hours crafting just for this occasion. Mr. Clarke had explained everything they would need for the project the week before when Mike initially asked him. It had been Mike's mission from that point on to get it all ready, except for the actual soldering iron, which Mr. Clarke brought in from home.

"This is a good skill to know for the future, be a real handyman," The teacher explains while the iron heats up. Mike watches in fascination as Mr. Clarke melts the solder into the little opening in the mold, carefully making sure that it doesn't go too quickly and flood the opening.

Mike's role is to hold the two sides of the mold together with a pair of pliers so nothing can spill out between it. The entire process only takes a few minutes, the pendant only being about the size of a nickel.

They let it cool for several minutes, just to be sure, and Mr. Clarke splits the mold open. Aside from a little clay dust on it to be polished off, the project is a success. On one side of the little metal waffle Mike had made a piece jut out, through which Mr. Clarke carefully taps a hole with a small nail.

Mike takes out the chain for the necklace, just barely fitting it through the hole. He practically jumps for joy when it's finished.

"Thanks Mr. Clarke, you're the best!" He exclaims excitedly.

"It was my pleasure," The teacher responds. "I love doing little projects like these."

Mike carefully packs the necklace away in his backpack and bids Mr. Clarke goodbye. Instead of going home, however, he heads into town, to the station.

Everything is set for him to give El the best first Valentine's Day ever, except for Hopper's approval to let her out for the night. Mike had written out a detailed itinerary, down to how long it should take to go from place to place, and estimates for how long they would stay.

When Mike leaves the school a small knot starts to form in his stomach, and by the time he parks his bike outside the station it's gotten painfully tight. He tries to take deep breaths to ease his tension, but it doesn't do much.

Flo gives him a warm greeting when he walks inside, reading the tension on his face as plain as a book.

"He's in his office," She tells him with a smile. "It's been a slow day, so he should be in a good mood for once."

Mike just nods, still trying to breathe. He nervously walks to the back of the station where Hopper's office is, knocking on the door with a shaky hand. Hopper looks up from the newspaper he was reading, and then sighs when he sees Mike.

"Shut the door," He says, folding the paper up and putting it down.

Mike does as asked and then sits in the chair in front of the desk.

"What poorly thought out idea are you pitching this time?" Hopper asks, lighting a cigarette to relax.

Mike hurriedly takes his hand written itinerary out of his backpack, accidentally knocking the Eggo necklace out as well. He frantically picks it up, dropping his papers in the process. Hopper sighs as Mike stuffs the necklace in his pocket and tries to put his papers back in order.

"Since it's, umm," Mike starts when he finally gets it together, stuttering over his words. "V-Valentine's day, I, uh, I was th-thinking-"

"Stop," Hopper tells him, which makes Mike clam up immediately. "Take a breath, and start from the beginning again."

Mike takes a nervous breath, his hands still shaking a little. He starts to question the whole plan, until he glimpses the necklace chain hanging out of his pocket.

"IwanttotakeElonadateforValentine'sday," Mike says, his words coming out almost incomprehensibly quickly. He drives it home by thrusting the papers out at the chief, who takes them suspiciously.

Hopper looks through the papers carefully before replying, keeping Mike in agonizing suspense for several long minutes.

"This is a very impressive list," He comments, setting it down on the desk. "But you know that going out in public is out of the question."

"But the lab is shut down!" Mike exclaims. "And there would be dozens of other people, we'd blend-"

Hopper holds up a hand to stop him, and Mike's train stops on a dime.

"She's not going out in town, under any circumstances," He tells the frantic teen. "I've made a lot of exceptions to my rules, mostly because of you, but this one is non-negotiable. It's too dangerous."

"But she deserves it!" Mike insists, his voice breaking right after. "After everything that happened, she deserves one night, at least, to be a normal girl."

Hopper fixes the teary-eyed boy with a gaze, not 'the look', but still just as effective in making Mike stop talking. When he breaks the gaze Mike falls back in his seat in defeat.

What Mike can't see is Hopper moving his gaze to the picture Joyce had given him after the Christmas party, propped up next to his picture of Sara. It's the only actual picture of El he has.

Hopper sighs, dragging his hands down his face.

"I'll let you have your date," He says, and Mike instantly perks up. "But, and this is also non-negotiable, it won't be happening anywhere in town."

Mike's face falls a little bit. He'd wanted to show El something other than the same cabin she'd lived in for the last year.

"I still have my trailer outside of town," Hopper continues, bringing Mike back to reality. "And if you're willing to do some cleaning after school tomorrow and Wednesday, you can have your date there."

Mike opens his mouth to say something, or just to start cheering, but Hopper holds up a hand again.

"I have to be here all day Thursday, so you'll have to pick her up and take her," Hopper tells him. "Can you handle that discreetly? That means no going through town, no major roads, no stopping anywhere on the way, understand?"

Mike nods vigorously, his hair flailing everywhere around his head.

"You stay inside or on the deck, no going down to the water, no exploring through the woods," The Chief continues, his gaze turning into 'the look'. "No using the phone, unless there's an emergency. You can use the tv if you can get it work, but it's a piece of crap. And no funny business in that trailer."

Mike just nods again, not trusting himself to speak at the moment.

"And one last thing," Hopper says, taking a much less strict tone. "What's with the chain hanging out of your pocket."

"It's nothing," Mike tells him quickly, stuffing the chain further in where it can't be seen. Hopper gives him a new look, and then holds out his hand.

Mike sighs in defeat, gingerly handing the necklace over. Hopper turns it over in his hands a few times, examining the little metal waffle.

"Where'd you get this?" Hopper asks, letting the pendant dangle beneath his hand where Mike can see it.

"I, umm, I made it," Mike answers nervously. "Mr. Clarke helped me with melting the metal for it though."

"I hope you're planning more than just waffles," The chief comments, handing it back. As Mike gingerly takes it and carefully puts it in his pocket Hopper scribbles some directions on a piece of paper. "This is how to get to the trailer. You take that route specifically, no shortcuts."

Mike murmurs a quick thank you before clearing out as fast as he can. Once he's gone Hopper cracks a smile.

While he would never admit it out loud, he's starting to like the scrawny teen.

XxX

The next two days are a whirlwind of preparations for Mike. He even cleaned his room and the basement in the process, not that his mother would complain.

The names, effects, and scents of over a dozen kinds of cleaning supplies become etched into his mind as he cleans the trailer from top to bottom. Hopper has several giant bags of trash to haul away at the end of the day when he goes to check Mike's progress, beyond impressed at the condition of the shabby trailer.

Beyond cleaning, Mike gets Nancy, and later his mother as well, to help him make something he could bring for dinner and heat up. His mother continuously prods him for information, but he keeps it under lock and key. Her surprise at his efforts only seems to grow the longer she plays a romantic adviser with Nancy.

The part that surprises his advisers the most, however, is when he spends the last of his money on a dozen roses and a box of chocolates. He tries his best to hide them when he gets home from school that Thursday, but they notice.

Mike puts on his best semi-casual clothes, and even attempts to put on some of his father's cologne, though he sprays a cloud and starts choking.

"You'll be fine, Mike," Nancy assures him, standing in his doorway as he double checks everything, wrinkling her nose at the overuse of cologne. "But the cologne's a little much."

"I just want everything to be perfect," He replies, opening and closing the lid of the picnic basket four times in a minute. The only things in it are his flowers, chocolates, and few candles Nancy had snuck in for him, complete with a lighter.

"Mike, stop," Nancy tells him, walking up to him a putting a hand on his shoulder, turning him so they're face to face. "It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to come from you. El would be happy watching tv with a box of Eggos, so long as you do it together."

"But I want it to be perfect," Mike insists. "I want tonight to be something special for her, she deserves it to be perfect."

"Mike," Nancy says again, holding up a finger in front of his face. "I'll let you in a Valentine's secret, one that most guys never seem to learn. It doesn't matter if you spend hundreds of dollars on gifts, or dinner, or anything else. All that really matters is spending time together, and you know that's all El really wants."

"But-"

"No buts," Nancy interrupts before Mike can even really start. "Don't get so caught up in making everything 'perfect' that you forget to enjoy yourself, either. It could be the most amazing thing El's ever seen, but if you're not enjoying it with her she's not going to enjoy it at all."

Mike finally sighs in defeat and Nancy gives him a quick hug.

"Just keep repeating it in your head," She tells him. "It's perfect so long as you're together. Just over and over, until you finally believe me."

Mike pushes away, grabbing the last few things more slowly and giving his sister a last look before leaving with his basket. He repeats the line in his head as he pedals, his body knowing which route to take without him having to think about it.

When he reaches the little path to the cabin his thoughts turn to seeing El. Nothing about Valentine's day even enters the equation, just the simple act of getting to see her, something he could never get enough of.

He props his bike against the porch, the picnic basket precariously balanced between the handlebars. With a nervous knot of excitement tightening in his stomach he taps out his secret knock on the door.

After a few seconds the locks all click, the door flies open, and El hugs Mike with enough force for her to spin a little. Mike catches her hug, almost falling back down the few stairs of the porch in the process.

"Mike!" She exclaims as she does it, something that always sends a special tingle through Mike's body. It doesn't matter if it's been a day, a week, or 353 days; El's greetings would always be one of his favorite things.

When El finally decides to pull back and look at Mike's face, she crinkles her nose and gives him a slightly confused look.

"It's only Thursday," She says. "What are you doing here today? And why do you smell so weird?"

Mike can't help the grin that breaks out on his face, a combination of the surprise he has waiting and how adorable he thinks she looks when she questions things.

"There's a special holiday today," Mike tells her. "It's called Valentine's day."

"Presents?" El questions hopefully.

"I have a few presents for you," Mike answers, El breaking out with a matching grin. "It's not like presents at Christmas, but these ones are special."

"Can I see?" She asks, jumping a little in place, still hugging Mike just outside the open door of the cabin.

"Not yet," Mike says, which makes her pout. "We have to go somewhere first. I already got Hopper's permission to bring you out, so you just need to get ready."

El lets go of the boy in front of her, actually jumping for joy at the thought of going on a new adventure with Mike. She drags Mike inside when she finishes, closing the door with her mind and then going to get something other than sweats on.

She comes back wearing a worn pair of jeans, a white tank-top, and a red sweater, all of which Mike recognizes as things Nancy had worn years ago. All the same, his breath hitches at the sight of her, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. It fits better than the hand-me-down sweats she'd been wearing, giving some vague definition to the shape of her body, at least until she covers it up with her purple coat.

"I'm ready," She says, snapping Mike out of his daze, just short of him having literal hearts in his eyes.

He takes her mittened hand, leading her outside, and she closes and locks the door behind her. El offers to carry the basket while Mike wheels his bike back down the path to the road, promising not to open it.

They walk in comfortable silence, neither one quite sure what to say, but both knowing that it didn't matter to the other if they chat then and there. At the road Mike takes the basket back while El gets on behind him, almost the exact same thing they had done over a year before, only now they'd grown quite a bit. Mike quickly becomes intensely aware of how closely El is pressing up behind him on the limited space of the bike seat, and it doesn't help when she wraps her arms around him to hold on.

He's just glad she isn't sitting in front of him.

Mike had memorized the route that Hopper outlined earlier that week, and he'd taken it each time he went to the trailer so he would remember it better. El's head stays on a swivel, taking in the snow covered sights around them as they pass.

When they reach the cabin Mike helps El get off, and then props the bike against the porch so it won't get snowed over later. He unlocks the door with a key and they hurry inside out of the cold.

It's not the nicest place in the world, even after Mike's hours of cleaning, but it's cozy and warm. Mike hangs both of their coats up next to the door and gives El a quick tour of the trailer, leaving the picnic basket in the kitchen.

"This is where Hopper used to live, before the cabin," Mike informs her, and she takes a renewed interest in their surroundings. "I cleaned it up a lot, but it's still mostly the same."

While El explores the trailer a little more, Mike starts getting their dinner ready. The actual meal is something his mother had insisted on, and that Nancy had eventually agreed to. It consists of shredded lamb in some kind of broth or stew thing that Mike is supposed to combine with some spaghetti pasta.

El eventually comes to watch him, dipping her pinky in the broth and tasting it.

"This is good," She murmurs, which loosens the knot in Mike's stomach a little. Now he just has to not screw up the preparations.

He'd made sure the trailer had everything he would need to cook these things again, mainly a pot for the pasta, a strainer, and another pot for the lamb thing. On the side he puts some green beans, knowing El hates peas with a passion.

El helps him with some of it, stirring the pots every so often, and splitting the occasional noodle with Mike as he checks to see if they're done yet. At the same time Mike sets the table, putting a fancy red tablecloth on it, and the candles Nancy had put in the basket for him. He even preps something for later, making sure that El doesn't notice.

He also, belatedly, remembers to give El the flowers and chocolates.

"Pretty," She observes, taking the flowers.

"Just be careful, some of them have thorns on them," Mike warns her.

"Thanks, Mike," She says, hugging him again, the chocolates in one hand and the flowers in the other.

When they break apart Mike offers to put the flowers in a vase, which he then sets on the table to El can see them during dinner. Once the table is fully set, Mike insists that El sit down and relax, that he'll take care of everything.

As it turns out, Mike isn't completely hopeless in the kitchen, though he definitely isn't a chef by any account. When he sets the dish down in front of El she eyes it with curious suspicion, taking the seat closest to her as she does so.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Mike says with a nervous smile as they pick up their cutlery. Every possible thought runs through his head, about the food, about his still overpowering stink of cologne, about the necklace burning a hole in his pocket, about the trailer, about the candles burning next to them, and especially about whether or not the girl next to him is enjoying herself.

"Happy Valentine's Day," El repeats in her normal quiet tone, carefully bringing some of the pasta and lamb to her mouth.

Mike waits with bated breath for her verdict, watching with nervous tension as she slurps the end of a noodle into her mouth. His heart starts to pound in his chest, and he can hear the blood rushing in his veins with every beat, absolutely certain that she can hear it too.

"I like it," She says after swallowing, and Mike finally remembers how to breathe.

El eyes him curiously now as he half-laughs, taking deeper breaths than normal to compensate for his lack of oxygen, grinning the whole while.

They eat in relative silence, a comfortable silence, but after the first few minutes of neither of them talking, El starts to tap Mike's foot with her own every so often. Each time she does she puts on an innocent look when Mike looks at her, and then giggles when he starts to poke back.

By the end of dinner, and their game of footsie, they're both grinning from ear to ear. Mike clears the plates away and puts them in the sink to wash later, grabbing the last two he'd prepared for dessert, and setting up the last part of his plan.

"You'll love this one, I promise," Mike tells her, setting the plates down in their places. "Just close your eyes while I get it out, okay?"

El nods, closing her eyes and putting her hands over them for good measure. Mike goes to the freezer, removing the secret he'd been preparing most of the day before, getting it to just the right shape.

With a ding on the toaster it comes to fruition, putting it all together with practiced ease and adding the top just like Hopper had suggested. He sets it down in front of El and steps back.

"Okay, open your eyes," He says, his nervous smile flitting back on his lips

El drops her hands and her eyelids snap open, going as wide as her plate, quickly followed by her jaw dropping with a gasp.

Sitting in front of her is a quadruple decker Eggo ice cream extravaganza. With an eggo base, topped with a shaped layer of strawberry ice cream, followed by another eggo, then a layer of vanilla, then yet another eggo, then chocolate, then the final eggo, topped with whipped cream, jelly beans, sprinkles, two cherries, and a really big strawberry.

When Mike puts a bottle of maple syrup on the table, and a bottle of chocolate syrup, she manages to rip her eyes away from it to gape at him.

"Do you like it?" Mike asks, utterly hopeless at reading her expression.

El's response is to leap up out of her chair and wrap Mike in the tightest hug of his life. He stumbles backwards, not expecting it to happen, but manages to stay standing this time.

"It's amazing," She says, squeezing him as he hugs her back.

They stay like that for a while, until Mike gently starts to separate himself.

"We should eat it before the ice cream melts," He tells her, and she lets go with a blush, hiding it in excitement by turning back to the eggo stack.

Mike gets a big knife from a drawer, cutting the stack unevenly into one third and two, transferring the smaller piece to his plate so El wouldn't lose out on any of the melted ice cream pooling on the plate.

El's feet find Mike's again as they eat, but instead of footsie, she just rests them against his. She smiles through her full mouth when he looks at her, and he does the same thing.

El's piece is twice as big, but she still manages to finish just before Mike. Her plate is completely clear, and if it weren't for the streaks where she'd licked the melted ice cream off, you wouldn't have been able to tell anyone had used it.

Mike clears the table again, checking the clock as he does. It's almost eight, which means they have about two hours until Hopper comes to get them.

"Do you want to pick out a movie while I do the dishes?" He asks, not wanting her to have to lift a finger on this date.

El just nods again, though she has a small frown on her face, and Mike shows her the collection of tapes he'd accumulated the last few days. She starts to sift through them slowly as he goes back to the kitchen.

Halfway through washing the plates, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows and hands hidden by dishes, El comes back to the kitchen with a tape and sullenly drops it on the counter. It doesn't take a genius to know that something isn't right, so Mike turns off the water and dries his hands, pulling his sleeves back down.

"What's wrong?" He asks, gently taking her hands.

"You keep doing everything without me," She answers, raising her eyes from the floor to look at his. While not teary yet, they are starting to glisten. "Don't you want to do things together?"

Mike's heart practically tears in two in his chest, at least that's what it feels like when he hears how sad she sounds.

"I'm so sorry," He tells her immediately, bringing her in close for a hug, and she buries her head in his chest. "I didn't want you to have to do the work today. It's a part of Valentine's Day, I make you a special dinner, I do the dishes, and you just have to relax and enjoy."

"But I don't want to just relax," She retorts, pulling back a little so she can look at him again, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I want to do it together, it doesn't matter what it is."

Nancy's words echo in Mike's head, and he curses himself for not paying more attention to them. He'd thought he was doing so well, especially after he brought out the eggo extravaganza. Now it all comes crashing down around him as he realizes that he'd been doing almost the exact opposite.

"I'm sorry," He says again. "I was so worried about everything being perfect for you, I guess I kind of screwed it up."

El sniffs, the tears finally escaping when she blinks. Mike gently wipes them away with his thumbs.

"I promise," He continues. "From now on, we'll do everything together."

"Promise?" She repeats, her voice quieter than normal.

Mike holds out a pinkie, and she gingerly adds her own.

"So, I guess that means you're helping me with the dishes now?" Mike questions, trying to cheer her up with a grin.

El breaks a half smile, letting go of Mike and floating the dish towel over to her. Mike gingerly kisses her on the cheek, and she blushes again.

They finish the dishes together, El stacking them telekinetically for Mike to bring back home to his mother. El insists on picking the movie together, not even remembering which one she'd brought to the kitchen with her. After some debate, El picks Grease because it has music in it, and Mike agrees, not having brought any he wouldn't have been okay with watching. He does, however, have to explain the basics of each movie to her, which takes them until almost nine o'clock.

"El, um, before we start the movie," Mike starts, fumbling over his words a little. "Can I, uh, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," She replies, turning to sit cross legged on the couch so she can face him. He quickly does the same, reaching into his pocket and taking out a little box, tied shut with a bow.

"So, um, I know we've been, you know, seeing each other, for a while now," He says, his face starting to heat up just thinking about what he's about to ask. "But we, uh, we never made it, um, you know, official, between us."

"Official?" El asks, cocking her head to the side in confusion, which makes Mike's stomach flutter as the curls on her head bounce.

"Official as a, uh, as a...couple," Mike answers, hesitant to confuse her definition.

"Like friends?" She questions, still not following.

"No, it's more like, um," Mike responds, trying not to drown in these uncharted waters. "You know how we, you know, kiss? And hold hands and hug a lot?"

El nods slowly.

"Well, uh, those are things that couples do with each other," He continues, praying that Hopper never finds out about this conversation. "And when you're a couple, you promise not to do those things with other people the same way. Like how Nancy and Jonathan are a couple."

"Does that mean I shouldn't hold Hopper's hand anymore?" El asks, her brow furrowed in thought. "Or give him hugs?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Mike says quickly, and then realizes how easy it would be to toss that either way. "You can still do those kinds of things with Hopper, because he's like your dad now, and with other special people, like with the party or with Mrs. Byers. It's just different when couples do it, because they're in a relationship. It's special for them."

"Are we in...a relationship?" She responds, and Mike can feel his insides flutter as she looks straight into his eyes.

"That's, um, that's what I wanted to, uh, ask you," He replies, getting tongue tied again. He holds the box out to her, and she gingerly takes it, untying the bow and lifting the lid. "El, will you be my girlfriend? Officially?"

The girl lets out a little gasp when she sees the necklace, delicately taking it out of the box and holding it up in the light. Now fully shined and polished, it almost sparkles as the light catches the individual boxes on the waffle.

With the necklace clutched tightly in her fist she dives forward on the couch, wrapping her arms around Mike and knocking him onto his back.

"Yes," She tells him, right before pressing her lips onto his. For a few seconds Mike is too stunned to react at all, but soon a wide grin breaks over his face and he leans into the kiss.

They hold it for over a minute, which would give poor Hopper an aneurysm if he knew, and when they break apart they can't help but grin like fools at each other. They share another, shorter, kiss before El sits up, excitedly pleading for Mike to put the necklace on her.

She holds her curls up and away from her neck while Mike fumbles with the tiny clasp on the necklace chain. When he's done she lets her hair fall, giving Mike the faintest trace of lavender before she turns around.

"Pretty?" She asks, her eyes sparkling with hope.

"Beautiful," Mike murmurs, barely registering the necklace as he takes El's face in for what must be the millionth time, but it somehow feels like the very first time again. "Absolutely beautiful."

El blushes at the compliment, but doesn't look away from Mike's admiring gaze.

They spend the rest of their night together with Mike doing his best to explain what it means to be a couple, and be in a relationship, in more detail. The movie sits forgotten on the coffee table, but neither of the two could care any less, snuggled close together on the couch, hands intertwined, stealing glances at each other when they think the other isn't looking, and giggling whenever they catch each other looking.

That's how Hopper finds them when he shows up around ten twenty, still in his full police uniform. For once, not even his intimidating presence seems to restrain Mike's grin, even for a few seconds.

"So, how'd it go?" He asks his daughter while Mike collects his things.

"Perfect," She answers dreamily, her focus on the pendant hanging from her neck instead of the man in front of her. "It went perfect."

"Did anything happen?" He continues, duly noting El's behavior.

"Mike asked me to be his girlfriend," She tells him, her smile turning into a grin again at the thought, and her cheeks turning pink. "We're official now."

"Oh, are you?" He responds, sending a raised eyebrow in Mike's direction as he joins them by the door to put his coat on.

"Yes sir," Mike answers, his hand and El's unconsciously finding each other.

Hopper just rolls his eyes, mentally throwing in the towel for the night.

"Alright, you've had your fun, now get in the car," He tells them, not commenting further as they walk out hand in hand.

He checks that everything is unplugged and turns off the lights, making it outside just in time to see Mike pass his basket to El so he can wheel his bike over the Blazer. For a moment, just a single moment of weakness, Hopper lets a smile play across his face.

* * *

Again,so sorry that this update took so long to come out, I've been incredibly busy with life deciding to happen since my last posting. It also doesn't help that I have so many things that I want to write, so my attention is divided. It's just going to add to my list of stories to write, but I'm probably going to start a story for prompts that people send to me, so if you have an idea for a one-shot that you'd like to see come from me, pm me or add it to a review(the former is preferred).

I let a few friends preview this chapter, so I'll address one of the concerns they had before anyone else asks. The whole little conflict with El getting upset is to show that while she is starting to adjust to a more normal life, there are psychological wounds that come from being raised in the way she was. A big wound would be abandonment issues, like when Brenner locked her in that room when she didn't meet his expectations and cut her off from any interaction. Even in the little things, like Mike not wanting her to help him with the dishes and pick out a movie instead, those kinds of issues can come to the surface because she feels like he's trying to cut off his interaction with her(even if he's just trying to be nice). This is just one example of the internal trauma El still has to work through, which I plan to explore throughout this story, because I see a lot of stories that try to tie it up with a bow after mentioning it once. Years of psychological trauma don't just fade away all at once, no matter how much life changes for the better, they have to be worked through continuously to deal with them.

Sorry if that explanation was too boring to read, or too heavy for what's meant to be a fluffy chapter, I just wanted to get that out of the way in case anyone had questions.

Right now the list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day

In Progress- Spring Break(probably going to be multiple chapters because I'm putting a lot of plot development into them)

To Do- a mystery surprise, summer break, 4th of July, something for end of summer, and then the start of school.

Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Spring Break: Part 1

Hello everyone!

This will be the first of (probably) 2 chapters that focus on Spring Break. I'm going to start shifting from mainly fluff to more character development from now on, particularly around El, Mike, and Hopper. There will still be plenty of fluff, don't worry, but I'm gearing up for some big stuff coming soon.

I don't really have many announcements this week, so...

On with the story!

* * *

In the week before spring break, everybody with eyes could see how excited Mike Wheeler is. No matter how boring a class he had to sit through, the corners of his mouth would just keep turning up, something Troy and his group gave him no end of grief for that week.

But for him, it was all worth it, because a few weekends before he'd been given some of the best news of his life. From Hopper.

For an entire week, or thereabout, he was letting El leave the cabin with the party. They were strictly forbidden from going anywhere close to town, or anywhere there might be other people, but it was still a landmark decision.

And Mike couldn't be happier.

For days, the only thing he can think about is what the party, and more specifically what he, can do with El for these precious nine days, ten counting the rest of Friday. He writes list after list, comes up with plan after plan, until he remembers. So long as they're together...

As soon as the bell rings, Mike is the first one out the door. His friends rush at his heels, trying not to get left behind. They call for him to slow down and wait, but it falls on deaf ears. Until the wheel of his bike gets stuck on the rack for a few seconds, and his friends finally catch up, Mike is dead to the world.

"Mike!" Dustin shouts in his ear, finally getting his attention. "Calm down, she's not going to mind if you don't go at mach seven right when the bell rings."

"I know that!" Mike retorts, finally getting his bike free. "But it's spring break, and Hopper's finally letting her hang out with us without supervision."

"You just want to make out with your girlfriend without her dad glaring at you," Max corrects while the other boys get their bikes free.

Mike turns pink, but doesn't deny the statement.

"And remember, you have to show us how to get to the cabin," Lucas reminds him, wheeling his bike out. He puts his backpack in front of him and then gets on, leaving space for Max behind him.

Once they're all ready to go Mike leads the way off the school campus. Despite his excitement, he doesn't peel ahead at the speed of light, even slowing down when they reach an uphill part of the road so Lucas doesn't get too winded, carrying two people and all.

It takes them a while to reach the cabin at their slower pace, far longer than it ever takes Mike to get there from the school.

"We have to walk from here," The boy himself announces when they reach the trail. "It's about a five minute walk."

Without another word he sets off down the familiar path, wheeling his bike alongside him. The other members of the party fall in a loose line behind him, trying to go through the same route so they don't catch too much debris.

Mike can't help but take off, almost running, when the cabin comes into view. He leans his bike against the porch and rushes up to the door, knocking his special pattern as his friends hurry behind him. The locks click and the door flies open, El practically leaping into his arms with a grin on her face.

Mike gets a half spin in before his foot slips out from under him, sending the two of them crashing to the ground, which seems to have become their traditional greeting. Hopper doesn't comment, looking through the newspaper on the couch, not even bothering to look up this time.

"Hey, kid," He greets from behind the sheets of print.

"Hello, sir," Mike responds politely, another tradition of his visits. He'd found that calling Hopper 'sir' works wonders for the many plans he tries to put together for El, so it's become a habit.

El gets up when the rest of the party finally reaches the porch, giving the other boys hugs of their own, though less enthusiastic. She gives Max a short look, but otherwise doesn't say anything. Max doesn't even try to offer a handshake this time, it hadn't gone well any of the other times.

They pile into the cabin, the door closing and locking behind them. Hopper folds up his paper and retreats to his little office/bedroom, telling them to keep it down to a dull roar.

When they're gathered around the coffee table together, Mike immediately launches into the rough itinerary for the week, most of the space blank and waiting for group decisions.

"I was thinking that tomorrow we could start off with the junkyard, you know, play some games and hang out during the day," Mike suggests. "And then after, we could have a movie night. I already have a couple movies together-"

"If it's going to be all Star Wars again, that's a no from me," Max cuts in, but Mike just gives her a self satisfied look.

"If you really don't want to come, that's fine," He says. "I guess we can just skip over Halloween and Friday the 13th."

Max's face lights up at the mention of Halloween, her favorite movie of all time.

"You're finally growing a pair!" She exclaims in delight, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder with a grin on her face.

She retracts her hand quickly when she sees, or rather feels, El's glare on her. It's a wonder Max doesn't catch fire from the sheer intensity. Mike doesn't seem to notice, filling in part of the rough itinerary, but the other boys definitely take note.

Max's eyes dart between her hand, Mike, and El as the girl's glare turns away, turning to a soft gaze when it lands on Mike. It doesn't take Max long to figure out what the problem is, and she mentally slaps herself for not figuring it out sooner. Maybe she should find some other girls to hang out with once in a while...?

 _"No wonder she hates me,"_ Max thinks to herself, remembering all the other looks she'd gotten over the past few months. _"She thinks I like Mike."_

"El, can I talk to you?" She asks, deciding to get this problem out of the way, once and for all. "Alone?"

Her question draws everyone's attention: a cold stare from El, a confused look from Mike, and different states of concern from the other three boys.

When El doesn't respond, Max gets up, and to her relief El does the same. They go into El's room and Max closes the door, wanting some kind of privacy for this kind of conversation.

"I think you've got the wrong idea about me," She starts, trying not to shiver under El's cold gaze. "I don't _like_ Mike, I never have, and he for sure doesn't _like_ me. He was against me joining the group altogether, at least until you came back. And since you're not normally around to notice, Lucas and I are kind of a thing now, so I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend from you."

El just keeps staring, not saying anything, and Max finally starts to realize why the boys think she's so cool. The girl has a powerful presence, not just because of her powers, but just from her sheer intensity.

"You don't like Mike?" El asks after almost a full minute of silence.

"No," Max answers with as much certainty as she can muster under that gaze. "At least not in the way you like him. Mike and I are friends, _just_ friends."

El is silent for another stretch, only this time she purses her lips.

"Sorry for knocking you off your skateboard," El tells her, her gaze falling to the ground. "That was mean."

"That was you?" Max responds, remembering back to when she and Mike had been in the gym, talking about her being their Zoomer. Her board had just been yanked out from under her, but looking back, it makes sense that it was El. "You know what, it's fine. Are we good now? Can we finally start being friends?"

El finally cracks a smile, and Max feels a rush a warmth, especially after the icy intensity of the girl's previous glare. Max holds out her hand, but El goes in for a hug, which Max isn't totally prepared for. She awkwardly returns the hug until El breaks away again.

"Friends," El repeats, and Max finally remembers to smile herself.

With their greatest obstacle finally out of the way, the two girls go back to join the rest of the party around the coffee table.

"What was that about?" Mike asks as they sit down.

"Just girl stuff," Max answers, which makes Mike turn pink and quickly go back to the papers in front of him.

"Okay, that locks in our plans for tomorrow," He says, picking up where they'd left off. "Just eight more days to go."

Over the next hour the party decides on a rough plan for the week. They set aside two days to play D&D, specifically to get Max and El introduced to the game in earnest. Another movie day is set aside, with instructions to bring a few movies each. A single day is put in for general games at Will's house, including both video games and classic board games. Aside from the day for the junkyard, two other days are named for just going out and exploring the fringes of town, specifically the quarry and the woods. The two outstanding days are ruled as personal days, to do whatever, probably go to the arcade in town, minus Mike.

With their plan together, they use the rest of their time that night doing nothing useful. They play a whole bunch of games, most of which El doesn't understand at all, especially never-have-I-ever.

In all, a great start to what will, hopefully, be a great week.

XxX

The next morning Mike is right back at the cabin to pick up El, still being the only one in the party that really knows the way there. His knock carries clear into the morning air, the sun rising high into the sky, a scattering of clouds occasionally blotting it out for a few seconds at a time.

This time Hopper opens the door, though he doesn't have the normal 'look' on his face when he sees Mike standing there.

"Morning, sir," Mike greets, readjusting the bag on his shoulders.

"Morning, Mike," Hopper replies, his eyes shifting to the forest in front of the cabin. "You brought what we talked about, right?"

Mike's face turns solemn and he nods quietly.

"And you got the chance to practice?" Hopper asks, finally satisfied that there was nobody spying on the cabin.

"Nancy took me," Mike answers, his voice low enough that El won't hear him inside. "She explained the basics, and I did pretty well with it, I think."

"That should be good enough for today," The Chief says, ushering the boy inside. "Just remember, Wednesdays after school."

"I know, I told my mom that I'd be helping you with some community service projects for a while, so she shouldn't be suspicious," Mike responds as Hopper closes the door behind them.

That's about as far as their conversation can get as El comes rushing out of her room, a small drawstring bag over her shoulders. She gives Mike his customary tackle hug, and he manages to catch himself before fully falling over during the spin. El grins and giggles a little at their success.

"You didn't fall over," She murmurs in his ear.

"I'm getting better at it," He replies with a grin of his own, though neither of them can see the other's.

El is the first one to pull back from the hug, giving Mike a slightly quizzical look.

"Something feels different," She says, stepping back and looking him over. "But I can't tell what."

"I might have gotten a little taller," Mike offers, knowing the real reason, but not wanting her to have to know about it. "My mom thinks I'm going to outgrow all of my clothes by the summer."

El gives him another look over before shrugging. Mike being taller than her is nothing new, it just makes it easier for her to rest her head on his chest when they hug, and for him to put his head over hers.

"Alright you two, your friends are probably waiting for you," Hopper interjects before they start hugging again. "Remember what we talked about, both of you."

He gives each of them a look when he says the last part, getting small nods in return. With a sigh he holds the door open for them to leave.

"Remember, if anything happens!" Hopper calls after them as the walk down the trail. "Anything at all, you call me!"

Mike turns and gives him a thumbs up, his voice not loud enough to carry back clearly enough. Hopper waits until they're out of sight to close the door, an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

XxX

"About time," Dustin calls out to Mike and El as they pull up on his bike. "Did you two stop to make out or something?"

"And what if we did?" Mike responds indignantly, even though they hadn't.

"Ew, gross!" Dustin exclaims. "We don't need to know about that!"

"You're the one who asked!" Mike retorts as he gets off, helping El off gently.

"You did kind of walk into that one," Max tells him from where she's leaning against the stripped husk of a car, getting nods of agreement from Lucas and Will.

Mike puts his bike with the others and quickly rejoins the group, his hand and El's finding one another almost unconsciously. If their friends notice, they don't comment, but it's not like the two have to hide it from Hopper here.

"What should we do first?" Will asks after a stretch of amused silence.

"I packed a frisbee if you guys want to play jackpot or something," Dustin informs the group, getting a confused look from El.

"It's a game, we can explain it later if we want to play," Mike tells her, getting a small nod in response.

"How about hide-and-seek?" Lucas suggests. "Remember when we used to play that here? There's, like, a million hiding spots."

"Hide-and-seek?" El questions, cocking her head to the side.

"It's a game where one person is the 'seeker' and they have to try to find as many other people as possible," Mike explains. "The other people are hiding though, anywhere they think they won't be found. If the seeker doesn't find you before time runs out, then you win."

"Let's play that," El says with a smile. "That sounds like fun."

"Then it's settled," Max announces. "Now, who's seeking first?"

Immediately the others, except for El, touch a finger to their nose. Dustin curses when he's the last one.

"Stupid nose game," He mutters. "I always lose."

"You're reflexes are just slow," Max informs him, leaving her leaning spot behind and heading off into the junkyard. Will and Lucas rush off in different directions, and Mike gently pulls El along as Dustin starts counting.

Per Hopper's rules, El isn't allowed to be alone in public, or even distanced from public like they are at the junkyard. Aside from going to the bathroom, Mike is basically required on pain of death not to leave El's side for the day, not that he minds in the least.

"He starts searching once he gets to sixty," Mike tells her. "So we need to find the best spot before then."

"What about there?" El suggests, gesturing to the armored bus. Mike grins and agrees, and the two rush on board.

Aside from some dust, the inside is pretty much the same as Mike remembers. Even with the armor upgrades it had gotten last year, it's still pretty dingy inside, but it gives them the perfect place to hide.

"Okay, they might still check on here, so we need to hide under the seats," Mike says, leading her further back and then getting down to slide under a seat.

El hesitantly does the same, her eyes darting around, something that Mike takes immediate notice of.

"What's wrong?" He asks, sliding out from under the seat to get closer to her. She puts her hand out and grabs his, squeezing it tightly.

"It's small," She answers timidly. "I don't like small."

"Then let's go find somewhere else," Mike suggests. "I know a couple cars we could hide in together, with plenty of space."

He starts to get up, but El tightens her grip on his hand, setting her features resolutely and taking a deep breath.

"I can do this," She says. "Just don't leave me."

"I'll never leave you," Mike responds, squeezing her hand back. "You know that. If you ever need anything, anything at all, I'll help you."

They spend a little while smiling at each other, until they hear footsteps going by outside. Someone starts up the steps of the bus, but stops before getting all the way up. After another few seconds the person backs away.

Mike looks around quickly, seeing an old blanket they'd left here months ago. He points it out to El, who seems to understand his meaning. She lifts it with her mind, shaking some of the dust onto the space where it had been sitting.

She sets the dusty blanket down over their arms, putting a couple bunches in it to look more natural.

For ten minutes they focus on each other, tuning out the rest of the world. It helps El ease through her claustrophobia, and Mike just welcomes any chance to stare at his girlfriend and continue memorizing every feature.

"You checked the bus, right?" Max's voice inquires outside.

"Of course I checked the bus," Dustin's voice responds. "You think I'm stupid?"

"Not all the time, but you're always distracted by something," Lucas' voice answers. "Did you check the whole bus, or just give it a glance over?"

Dustin is silent for several seconds, his silence answering better than his words.

Seconds later three sets of footsteps thunder up the steps of the bus. They walk down the full length of the bus, passing straight by the couple's hiding place. Mike and El suppress giggles, finally deciding to reach out and grab their friends ankles.

Dustin and Lucas both let out very high pitched screams, which makes Max scream too. At least until they climb out from under the seats, their friends are absolutely terrified.

"You guys gave us a heart attack!" Max yells at them as they get up.

The two just smile sheepishly at their friends, hands still intertwined. Max rolls her eyes, and then slaps Dustin in the chest.

"You didn't check under the seats?" She asks, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"I'm sorry, I thought I saw Will, and I didn't want to miss the chance," Dustin says defensively. "And it worked too, I just caught you instead!"

Mike and El just smile each other, following their friends off the bus as they continue to argue. They play several more rounds of hide-and-seek, each of them taking a turn to seek. Mike makes sure to find hiding spots with plenty of open space, and El doesn't seem close to any more claustrophobic incidents. Dustin complains that the two of them getting to seek together is cheating, but nobody really listens to him.

Will is consistently the only person they can't find hiding, except for Mike and El, but everyone chalks it up to there being two of them.

Dustin, Max, and Lucas tell the tale of creating the armored bus when they break to eat some of Dustin's snacks. The three listening don't seem as impressed by the story as the three telling it, but they don't seem to notice.

"You guys are insane," Mike tells them once they finish, splitting a kitkat with El.

"This from the one who decided we should set part of the tunnels on fire," Max retorts, getting a snort of laughter from Dustin.

"You're all insane," Will says matter-of-factly before biting into his granola bar.

He manages to keep a straight face for almost ten seconds before bursting out laughing, which makes the entire party burst out laughing.

"I like our insane," El comments quietly once the laughter starts to die down. She has a smile on her face, the kind that becomes infectious once you see it, because you haven't seen it often enough.

After their snack break they get ready for a scavenger hunt of sorts. Whoever can find the coolest looking piece of scrap in the junkyard wins a dollar from each of the other party members.

"What about this?" Mike asks, pulling up a tire rim with a cool looking star-shaped hubcap still attached.

El considers it for a few moments, but then shakes her head. Her gaze moves behind her boyfriend, and with a focused expression, she floats an old engine out of the pile they're looking through.

Mike's eyes dart around fearfully as El sets it down next to them. Her nose only lets out a few tiny drops worth of blood at the exertion, and she quickly wipes them away with her sleeve.

"El, you know you're not supposed to use your powers in public," Mike says, taking her hand with concern in his eyes. "You never know when someone could show up here, we need to be careful."

El's smile droops a little when she sees the worry on Mike's face.

"Sorry, Mike," She apologizes, her eyes moving to the floor. "I thought you would like this piece."

"I do, it's amazing, and you know I never get tired of seeing you use your powers," Mike tells her quickly, wrapping his arms around her. "But Hopper made me promise to keep you safe, so I'm just worried."

"No powers in public," El murmurs, remembering one of Hopper's new rules as she hugs him back.

"I know it sucks, and it must get frustrating to have to keep them bottled up," Mike says, rubbing small circles on her back. "But if we don't follow the rules, Hopper won't let us see each other."

El nods against his chest, the thought of not being able to see Mike more than sufficient for her to follow whatever rules Hopper sets down.

It works just as well for Mike, if not more so. After a year of emptiness and depression, not knowing if El was alive or dead, he'll do absolutely anything to keep from that happening again.

"Car!" Lucas shouts from somewhere else in the junkyard, snapping the couple out of their hug. Their eyes go wide, and Mike scans around them again before steering El toward an abandoned car wreck.

The front is crumpled in beyond repair, but the back doors still open, and he ushers her in as quickly as he can. She curls into a terrified ball on the dusty floor of the car, making herself as small as possible while Mike gets in with her, slamming the door shut behind him.

"It's okay, El," He assures her, reaching a hand out behind him for her to hold onto, the other one inside his jacket. His eyes, however, are continually scanning outside the window as the roar of an engine gets closer. It may be nothing, it's probably nothing, but he won't take that chance now. "I won't let anything happen to you."

El grabs his hand like a lifeline, her breathing shaky, but not hyperventilating.

They both suck in a sharp breath when the engine finally stops and the sound of doors slamming shut carries over to them.

"I'm telling you, I heard some kid shouting in here," A voice says, definitely male, but almost certainly in high school.

"Don't worry about it man, probably just some middle school shits," Another male voice responds.

"Can we just get this over with?" A female voice chips in. "We're supposed to be going to the movies tonight."

"Keep your panties on, Chelsea," The first voice answers. "We only need to find four hubcaps for my old man, they don't even need to match."

"Watch it!" Chelsea shouts, accompanied by the sound of a bunch of things crashing off of one of the scrap heaps.

"Check these out, two hubcaps in working order," The second voice says proudly. "We're already halfway done."

"Hey, look at that one over there!" The first voice calls. "The star shaped one!"

"Where?" The second voice answers.

"By that engine, Johnny, come on!" The first voice complains.

"Shut it Robby, you're one to talk!" Johnny retorts.

"Get down!" Mike hisses, ducking down from the window.

After a few moments they hear more shifting metal and a grunt of exertion.

"This one's still attached!" Johnny shouts to his companions as Mike prays he doesn't come any closer to the car.

"Doesn't matter, we can take it off at my house!" Robby yells back. "Just bring it over, I think I found the last one we need!"

There's another grunt, and Mike dares to peek out the window again, El squeezing his hand tighter for it.

"They're leaving," He whispers. "Nothing to worry about."

All the same, he doesn't let out the breath he's been holding until the car peels away in a spray of rocks and dirt. He throws the door open and climbs out, briefly letting go of El's hand to help her out as well.

She almost immediately attaches herself around his chest, her breathing still shaky. Mike hugs her back, rubbing her back as soothingly as he can.

"It's okay," He murmurs in her ear. "You're okay, we're all okay. There's nothing to be scared of, I'll protect you."

"P-promise?" She asks back, slightly muffled against his chest.

"Promise," He assures her. "You'll always be safe with me."

"Safe," She murmurs, probably to herself. "Safe with Mike."

She presses closer, her eyes scrunched tight as he tries to soothe her. That's how their friends find them, concern plastered on their faces, but Mike mouths that everything is fine. They get the message, quietly heading back to where they'd left their bikes to wait.

It's another few minutes before El breaks the hug, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Thanks, Mike," She says quietly.

"Whatever you need, El," He responds, taking one of her hands in his. "It doesn't matter what, you can trust me with anything."

"Anything?" El questions with a small sniff.

"Anything," He promises, gently squeezing her hand.

Once El is back in working order they go find their friends. Nobody mentions the incident, beyond making sure El is okay. It comes as some relief that they don't start freaking out, so they can go back to playing their games.

They continue their games for hours, until the sun starts to near the horizon. With a rushed goodbye they break the group apart so everyone can go home and get their things for the night, planning to meet up at Will's in about an hour.

Will, Mike, and El head straight over, seeing as Mike always has stuff at Will's and El has her change of clothes in her bag. They take a back way to Mirkwood, keeping a careful eye out for suspicious cars, but it goes without incident.

"Hey kids," Joyce greets from the kitchen, already working on heating up some snacks for them.

"Hi mom!" Will calls back as they go to dump their stuff in his room.

"I'll be in the bathroom," El murmurs, ducking out of the room.

Mike lets out a little sigh once she's gone, his nerves having been on high alert for the whole day. It's more than worth it to him, but it's still stressful.

"Something wrong?" Will questions, noting Mike's behavior.

"It's just been stressful today. Hopper made me promise to keep her safe, no matter what," Mike answers.

"That doesn't seem like it would be as stressful as it is," Will observes. "You know you can count on us too, right? We'll help you keep her safe."

"It's not that," Mike says, biting his lip. "It's just..."

"Just...?" Will continues when his friend trails off.

"Can you keep a secret for me?" Mike asks, nervously looking around the room. "From your mom, from the party, and _especially_ from El?"

Will eyes his oldest friend warily, but nods.

"You know you can trust me," He says, though he is a bit more apprehensive.

"Then can you shut the door a little?" Mike responds. Once Will puts the door to, not fully closed, Mike takes a deep breath and starts to take off his jacket. "The reason this day has been so stressful, is _this_."

Will's eyes go wide and his mouth hangs open just a little when he sees what Mike is so concerned about. Around Mike's shoulders is a gun holster, a revolver sitting under his left armpit, waiting. Even as Will tries to form a sentence, Mike starts to take it off as well, stuffing it to the bottom of his backpack.

"What the _hell_ , Mike?" Will hisses, his eyes flicking to the door.

"Before you get any thoughts, it was Hopper's idea," Mike informs him at a whisper. "It was the one rule above all for El to be able to come out with us. Nancy started teaching me how to shoot, and I'm supposed to practice with Hopper after school on Wednesdays from now on."

"But a gun?" Will continues, his voice still hushed. "Why would he think an eighth grader with a gun would be a good idea?"

"I don't know why!" Mike retorts. "All he said was that El has to either be behind locked doors, or with somebody that can protect her. I'm sure he'd rather be doing it himself, and I'm surprised that he isn't!"

They both take a breath when their voices threaten to get above their aggressive whisper. The flushing of a toilet alerts them to the seconds quickly expiring.

"You can't tell anyone, I wasn't even supposed to tell you," Mike pleads. "If the chief finds out anyone knows, especially if there isn't an emergency, he'll kill me. Or he'll keep El under lock and key again."

Will hesitates to say anything, and then the door opens at El's return. She gives the both of them a curious look.

"Did something happen?" She asks, looking between the two of them.

Mike's eyes widen a little as he tries to think of some kind of cover story.

"Mike was just asking me to cover for him," Will tells her, getting a panicked look from Mike. "He wanted to get some time for you two to be alone, so he asked me to distract my mom for a few minutes."

Mike almost slumps forward in relief, his pulse still racing in panic. El smiles at him, and then at Will with a silent thank you.

"On that note, I'll try to buy you a couple minutes," Will says, and then gives them his best Hopper stare. "And no funny business in my room."

El can't help but giggle as Will leaves, putting the door to again so they can have some privacy. Once her giggles die down, El goes back to smiling at Mike.

"Alone time," She murmurs, walking up to him and putting her arms around his neck. Standing on the tips of her toes, she can just reach Mike's lips with her own, helping him put his panic behind him.

His hands move to her waist as they kiss, until El breaks away, coming down off of her toes. She pouts up at Mike, making his grin falter a little.

"You're too tall," She complains, still pouting.

"I'm sorry," He tells her with a cheeky smile. "How about I meet you halfway?"

"That might work," El replies, leaning up again.

For a few glorious minutes the rest of the world melts away and time seems to stop. The only thing that matters, the only other thing that exists at all, is the person in front of them.

Their kiss starts to get more and more intense the longer it gets, until they finally break away to breathe. Their eyes meet, having a conversation all their own, until Mike finally breaks the silence.

"That was..." He murmurs, searching for the right word to use in his muddled brain. "Intense."

El just smiles, hugging her boyfriend again.

"I like the intense," She whispers in his ear after a few moments.

For the first time in a while Mike blushes as red as a tomato, his face practically glowing with heat.

Of course, Will chooses just after that to tap on the door and poke his head in.

"Hey, I thought I said no funny business," He says in his fake Hopper voice, getting El to laugh again as she separates from Mike. "And I can't stall any longer, my mom wants to know how everyone's doing."

El takes Mike's hand with a smile and leads him out of Will's room, the three of them going to the kitchen where Mrs. Byers is taking a tray of mini hot dogs out of the oven. It gives Mike about fifteen seconds to fight the blush off his face.

"Jane!" She exclaims when she sees the girl, giving her a big mom hug. "It's so good to see you. How's everything going?"

"It's fine," The girl answers. "I get to see my friends, and Mike."

She squeezes his hand when she says it, bringing a small blush back to his face. Joyce gives the young couple a knowing smirk as she grabs a spatula, transferring the mini hot dogs to a plate.

"Do anything interesting?" The mother continues.

"We played hide-and-seek," El reports, squeezing Mike's hand again. "I was scared when a car came, but Mike kept me safe."

"A car?" Joyce questions, going into full mom-mode. "Is there something we should be worried about? Do we need to call Hopper?"

"No, no actual problems," Mike tells her quickly. "Just some dumb high schoolers looking for hubcaps."

"But we are supposed to call Hopper, remember," Will chimes in, nudging his best friend with his elbow. "You asked me to remind you."

"Crap, I forgot," Mike groans, and then turns to Mrs. Byers. "Can I borrow the phone, Hopper wanted to know when we got back here."

"Sure sweetie," She answers, and takes note of the last squeeze he gives El's hand before going to the phone. "Now, you two, why don't you help me decide on some pizza toppings to get for tonight?"

Just like always they explain what each different topping is to El, though this time they get to eavesdrop on Mike's conversation with Hopper.

"We're at the Byers now," The boy reports, his friends noting how nervous he sounds. "Nothing bad happened."

There's a pause, filled in by Will explaining the difference between a ham topping and a bacon topping.

"There was one almost-incident," Mike says quietly, probably not wanting to be overheard, but it's a small house. "It was just some stupid high school kids though, they were looking for some hubcaps, and then they left."

There's another stretch of silence, El scrutinizing the menu in front of her.

"I'll let her know," Mike assures. "Bye."

He hangs up the phone and lets out a massive sigh, rejoining the kitchen party.

"Hopper said he's going to stop by after his shift today," Mike tells them, coming to a stop next to El and putting an arm around her shoulders. "And to save him some pizza, or else."

Mrs. Byers chuckles, and Will and El crack smiles.

"I think four pies should be more than enough for everyone," Mr.s Byers says after a few moments of comfortable silence. "And right now it looks like two cheese, one double pepperoni, and one pepper and onion."

"What about bacon?" El questions shyly, still holding the menu, fidgeting it between her fingers.

"I'm sorry sweetie, five pies just seems a little excessive," Joyce tells her with a small frown. "Maybe next time we can switch one out."

El nods silently, looking down at the table. Mike rubs her arm and hugs her a little closer. She looks up at him and smiles.

Halfway happy.

They pass the next hour doing nothing productive, waiting for their friends to show up. By then the sun is dipping below the horizon, darkness quickly spreading outside. As soon as Dustin arrives, the last one of the group, they get the vhs set up to play Halloween and situate themselves around the room after making some popcorn to enjoy.

As that happens, Joyce phones in their pizza order, and Mike stops in the kitchen at the same time to get a few glasses of water.

"Mrs. Byers," He whispers once she finishes, still waiting for confirmation from the other end. "Can you order a small one with bacon? Or just a slice or two?"

He slips some money across the table to her, which she raises an eyebrow to.

"Please?" He asks, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

While her mom-powers make her immune to the gaze, she relents, accepting his contribution and adding a few slices to the order.

He rejoins his friends and passes around a couple glasses before sitting on the couch between Will and El. Will brought out a blanket to hide under, as well as a flashlight and some coloring supplies, and El has a blanket of her own to share with Mike. While not particularly cold, the blankets are comfortable.

Lucas and Max sit together in front of the couch, leaning against each other in the light of the tv. Dustin lays down on the other side of the couch from them, his own bowl of popcorn sitting next to him.

"If you get scared, I'm right here," Mike whispers, gently taking El's hand under the blanket. "I'll keep you safe, remember?"

El smiles, gently squeezing his hand, but still eyes the tv with apprehension as the movie starts to play. Joyce leaves to get the pizza just as young Michael Myers is revealed in his costume.

El's grip tightens on his hand the longer they watch, and each time he looks over at her in concern. After around twenty minutes, more or less, she finally turns away from the tv.

"Can we do something else?" She murmurs to him, her voice a little shaky.

Mike nods, gently rubbing circles on her hand as he takes the blanket off of them.

"Will," He whispers to his friend, already under his blanket coloring. Will's head pops out when called, though, his eyes flicking between the screen and Mike. "Is it okay if we go to your room for a little while?"

Will's eyes shift to El, noting how she avoids looking anywhere near the tv, and then nods, giving his friend an understanding look.

The others are too engrossed in the film to notice them quietly leaving the room. Once they're in Will's room, El wraps herself around Mike's chest again, and he hugs her back as comfortingly as possible.

"I don't like scary," She murmurs against his shirt.

"It's alright, El, they can't hurt you," Mike whispers soothingly, gently rubbing her back. "We don't have to watch the scary ones, we can do something else."

"Like what?" She asks, picking her head up to look at Mike.

"I think Will might have some board games in here," He responds. "Or we could find a deck of cards, or just talk if you want."

"Talk," El murmurs, putting her head back down. "Just talk."

"Okay, is there anything you want to talk about?" Mike asks, noting her reversion to using simple sentences. "Anything you want to ask?"

El is silent for a while, just resting her head against Mike's chest with her eyes closed. If Mike didn't know better, he would have thought she fell asleep.

"Do you ever get nightmares?" She questions, breaking the silence.

Mike seems a little taken aback by the question, or maybe just by the sudden sound of speaking, but he composes himself quickly.

"Sometimes," He answers, his voice barely above a whisper. "I used to get them a lot more, when you were gone, but not as often anymore."

"How do you get them to stop?" She asks, her voice quivering a little, which makes Mike instinctively hug her tighter.

"Well, at least for me, I like to think of you," He tells her quietly. "Every time I get a nightmare, I picture you, and how gentle, and kind, and strong you are. I always feel safer with you in my mind."

El's grip on him tightens as well.

"I've tried," She says, choking up a little. "But every time I try to picture you, or Hopper, or Joyce, they just get worse."

Mike keeps rubbing her back as she speaks, the picture of El tearing up burning in his mind, and he feels useless for not being able to do more.

"They always take you away," She continues. "The Demogorgon, the dogs, the Mind Flayer, the bad men... Every time I try to think of you, they keep hurting you, and I can't stop them."

She starts to sob in earnest, wetting the front of Mike's shirt, though he doesn't seem to notice in his overwhelming concern.

"How do I make them stop?" She asks again between sobs.

Mike searches his brain for something to say, for anything to say that will make her feel better. The only thing he can think of, though, comes from a comic book.

"You can stop them," He whispers in as soothing voice as possible. "The nightmares, they all come from in your mind, but so does your strength. You have the strongest mind I've ever seen, and not just because you have powers, you're really smart too. You learn everything so much quicker than any of us ever could, and you always want to know the 'why' about everything."

El just lets out a whimper against him, and Mike feels that all-to-familiar tearing sensation in his chest.

"So that means you can do anything you put your mind to, because nobody else's can compare to yours," He says, really hoping this works in real life like it does in the comic books. "If you have a nightmare, it's only in your mind, which means it's trying to fight you where you're strongest. It doesn't make the rules in there, you do, so if you want to change it, I _know_ you can."

His assurance sounds more like a pep talk to him, but he's still at a loss for what else he can say. There's no books to help him with having a telekinetic girlfriend who's been through more in her short life than most people can dream of.

All he can do is try his best, and always be there.

After a few minutes of silence El loosens her grip on her boyfriend, stepping back to look him in the eyes. Both sets of eyes are red, one more puffy than the other, and they tell each other so much more than words ever could.

"Thank you," She finally says.

"You know you can call me, right?" He responds, still concerned. "I don't care what time it is, if you ever need me, for anything, please just call me."

"I know," She answers, managing a little smile. "Safe with Mike, remember?"

Mike lets out a half chuckle, his nerves still frayed from how emotional everything had just gotten. His heart can only take so much at once.

Their next hug is cut short by the sound of Mrs. Byers returning with the pizza, alerting the rest of the party to the fact that they're not still watching.

"We should probably go," El murmurs, giving a half hearted glance at the door.

"Are you okay?" Mike asks. "We can stay here a little longer if you're not ready."

El looks back at her boyfriend, her heart warming up as it always does when she sees his concern. No matter what expression he has, it always makes her feel a little better to see his face with its sea of little freckles.

"I will be," She answers, taking his hand so they can walk together.

Their friends are already tearing the pizzas apart when they get there, except for a much smaller box that Mrs. Byers hands to Mike when she sees him.

"Your special order," She says with a little smile.

"Thanks Mrs. Byers, you're the best," Mike responds, taking the box excitedly.

El gives him a questioning look when he turns to her with the box, and then her eyes widen when he opens it.

"For me?" She asks, as if he could have some other motive.

"You looked like you really wanted to try it, so I got you some," He tells her, somewhat sheepishly.

He can't speak a word after he gets a thank-you kiss from a grinning El.

"Mike, there's not gonna be any pepperoni left if you keep making out with your girlfriend!" Dustin shouts from across the kitchen.

Mike rolls his eyes in Dustin's direction, which makes El giggle as she takes out the first piece of bacon topped pizza. Lucas is the first to catch a whiff from across the room, following his nose to El's special box.

"How come she gets bacon?" The boy complains, even though he has a plate brimming with pizza.

"Wait, what?!" Dustin joins in, rushing over as well. "No fair, I want some!"

"Totally fair," Mike says with a victorious grin. "I bought them for El, so she gets to eat them all."

"You mean _we_ get to eat them all," She reminds me, stepping closer again so she can bump me with her hips. "Now open up."

Mike doesn't argue when she holds the slice of pizza up near his mouth, letting her feed him. Lucas and Dustin both groan at their friends' antics and move back to the other boxes of pizza.

"They're doing it again," Dustin gripes to Will and Max.

"Doing what?" Mike questions through his mouthful of pizza.

"You two can never keep your PDA in check," Max answers for the group. "If we were all in school together already, the two of you would have detention twenty times over for excessive PDA."

"You're just jealous that we're comfortable expressing our relationship around other people," Mike retorts in his best sagely voice. "You and Lucas act like you're not in a relationship at all."

"Just because _we_ have some restraint in public doesn't mean we have relationship problems," Lucas shoots back. "We just understand that there's a time and place."

"You're right, there _is_ a time and place," Mike says sarcastically. " _Ours_ just so happens to be all the time and everywhere."

As if to prove his point he leans down and plants a big kiss on El's still-smiling lips. If anyone had cared to ask, they would both say it tasted like bacon, not that anyone was going to raise the question.

Their friends continue to complain about them while they finish eating, saving several pieces for Hopper at Mike's insistence. Once they're all done, Max, Lucas, and Dustin go back to watching the end of Halloween in the living room. Will, Mike, and El stay in the kitchen and set up a game of scrabble, one of El's favorites as she learns new words.

That's how Hopper finds the group when he shows up after his shift. The movie trio has moved on to watching Friday the 13th, and the game trio has started a round of pictionary that's going surprisingly well.

He and Joyce greet each other with a short kiss, just quick enough that it could be friendly. With a look to Mike, he grabs a slice of pizza and heads toward the backyard. Mike hurries to follow, passing the tools on to Will once they guess his drawing of an elephant.

El pouts as he leaves, but doesn't complain when Will starts drawing something. Will tries not to focus on the fact that he knows at least _part_ of what they're going to be talking about.

Ten minutes later, Mike comes back to the table. He doesn't have any new injuries, so that's a good sign, and he seems a lot less tense than before.

"Anything interesting?" El asks after he settles into his chair.

"No, not really," Mike assures her. "Just regular guy stuff, you know, uh, man-to-man and all."

Will suppresses his laughter as El nods, not wanting to deal with the fallout of calling Mike's bluff then and there. Permanent marker may be easy enough to get off his face, but a surprise 'haircut' in the middle of the night isn't as easy.

Hopper sticks around for a little while, watching part of Ghostbusters with everyone before claiming exhaustion and leaving. Mike relaxes considerably more once the man's watchful eye is no longer on him, or rather on his psychic girlfriend trying to get as close as possible to him during the movie.

Even though they've seen it a million times, the movie is a nice way to end the night, and it isn't scary. By the time the kids roll out their sleepings bags and blankets, El seems just about back to normal. She and Mike have their now-traditional arrangement on the floor, the open sleeping bag underneath them, a blanket on top, and a smile on their faces.

Joyce snaps more photos of them looking adorable, and makes sure there's a copy for Hopper.

* * *

As always, I hope you enjoyed.

I'm sure at least a few of you are questioning my sanity; I can assure you that I'm doing the same thing, I just know where the story is going.

A) Exploring El's traumas is a big point for me, so this chapter featured some claustrophobia, nightmares, and the fact that she doesn't _really_ feel safe while she's out with her friends(at least not if other people show up in the same area). Of course, Mike is basically her security blanket, so nothing is cripplingly terrible, but I'll be exploring the intricacies of that part of their relationship in later chapters.

B) I just can't get over the fact that every time something happens, Mike ends up grabbing the nearest object to defend himself. It made sense to me that Hopper or Nancy would have noticed when he grabbed the candlestick, and considering how protective Hopper is of El, I thought it was a good reason for him to teach Mike how to shoot. Then, no matter who El is with, they can legitimately do something to protect her. If you disagree, I challenge you to write your own story, which I will almost certainly read because right now I'm just waiting on several dozen stories to be updated.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day

In Progress- Spring Break(still working on Part 2, and if you thought this chapter was dramatic, just wait till you read that one)

To Do- mystery surprise(planned), summer break(start), 4th of July, something for end of summer, and the start of school

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Spring Break: Part 2

Greetings and salutations!

Welcome to the second installment of Spring Break for the Stranger Things kids! Be prepared for potentially lethal levels of emotional upheaval, please keep arms and legs inside the cart at all times, and remember to smile for the pictures! If at any point you feel the need to get off, we suggest the X button in the upper corner or the back arrow in the other corner, and if you feel the need to cry, we recommend tissues and finishing the chapter!

Enjoy the ride!

* * *

Despite Hopper's less-than-thrilled response to getting new candids of Mike and El cuddling in their sleep, the next few days go quite well for the party. They get to explore the woods between the Byers' house, and El's cabin hideaway, at nearly opposite ends of Hawkins. The boys introduce El and Max to actual D&D gameplay, finally putting together Max's zoomer character and explaining being a mage to El. Will even unveils his updated artwork of the party as their characters, to everyone's great cheers. They even get a nice quiet day to play videogames on Will's Atari, as well as some more classic board games, El sweeping the game of scrabble with a grin.

For today, however, their sights are set on being outside in the fresh air. To that end, they decide to explore the quarry, and possibly push Dustin in the water.

Mike arrives at the cabin early yet again, his jacket pulled tight against the slight chill of the morning. Before he can even climb the few step to the door, it flies open and El tackles him onto the leafy ground.

"Mike!" She yells at the same time, just like every other time.

"Hey El," Mike greets, hugging her back as tightly as he can.

"Was that really necessary?" Hopper asks from the doorway. "You saw him yesterday, we dropped him off at his house."

"Missed him," She answers, snuggling her head into Mike's chest as she does.

Hopper just rolls his eyes with a sigh, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"You know the drill, kid," He says, trying to ignore the blatant PDA in front of him, despite Mike's nervous terror at seeing Hopper's hand brush against the gun at his hip. "Stay away from town, no using powers, the whole nine yards. If anything happens, you call me."

"Yes sir," Mike dutifully replies, as if his life depends on it.

Hopper gives the young couple a last eye roll before going back inside. Mike visibly relaxes in his hug once the door closes, the nervous tension on his face melting into a grin when he looks down at El.

"I missed you too," He tells her, getting a matching grin back.

"Where are we going today?" El asks, shifting her head so her chin is on Mike's chest instead of her ear.

"The quarry, and the woods over there," Mike informs her. "Do you remember the quarry? We were there before, the first week..."

"I remember," She says, and then raises a finger to point at him. "You're staying _away_ from the edge this time."

"Won't hear an argument from me," Mike mumbles back, flashing back to when he'd stepped off the cliff. It had been terrifying, and for a moment exhilarating, but mostly mind-numbingly terrifying.

He knew what that kind of fall would mean, at least _now_ he did. Broken bones, dislocations, joint damage, ruptured organs, spinal damage, head trauma...

And that's _if_ you're lucky enough to survive the impact.

"I never _really_ thanked you for that," He murmurs, tightening his hug. "For saving my life that day."

"You don't need to thank me," She responds, just as quietly. "I'd never let anything hurt you, not if I can stop it."

"Still, thank you," Mike insists. "I literally owe you my life, that's not something I can just brush over. And anything I do to repay you will never be enough, especially since now I get to be with you."

El blushes at his praises, returning her head to its earlier position.

"This is enough," She murmurs, content to stay there forever.

Mike is the same way, until he sees the curtains move in the cabin, and the glint of morning sunlight off the barrel of Hopper's gun.

"Maybe we should get going," He says, his voice noticeably strained and higher pitched. "The others will be waiting for us."

"Okay," El sighs, finally extricating herself from Mike and standing up. Mike breathes a sigh of relief when the curtain goes back down.

Once they're both on their feet they start off down the path to the road, El taking her normal seat on Mike's bike, hugging him tighter than she really needs to. Without cutting through town it takes almost half an hour to get to the quarry, and by then the rest of the party is already assembled.

"Took you guys long enough!" Dustin calls once they come into view.

"We took the long way!" Mike shouts back in their defense.

"Mike, if you want to make out with your girlfriend all day, just say so," Max says sarcastically once they're closer. "We'll start the adventure without you."

"Shut up," He groans, helping El off his bike.

"Where do you guys want to start?" Will asks, redirecting the conversation.

The general response is a bunch of shrugs, to which Max rolls her eyes.

"Let's start by the water, I can show you all how to skip a stone," She decides, grabbing her bag and her skateboard from the rock beside her.

"I know how to skip a stone," Dustin complains.

"Then I'll show you _up_ in how to skip a stone," She responds, starting off down the road to the waterfront.

Dustin is right behind her, arguing the whole way. The other four just shake their heads and follow, walking their bikes along beside them.

"So what are you guys doing tomorrow?" Will asks to pass the time. It had been designated to be a personal day, so everyone could do whatever they want.

"Max and I are going to the arcade," Lucas answers. "She wants to try to beat my record at Dragon's Lair."

"So you guys are going on a date?" Mike teases, enjoying being on the giving end.

"And so what if we are?" Lucas retorts, trying not to seem flustered. "You and El aren't the only ones that can do stuff together."

"And speaking of you and El," Will continues, his focus shifting powers at work again. "What are you guys doing tomorrow?"

"Making out," El replies before Mike can open his mouth.

Will and Lucas burst out laughing and Mike turns red enough to be a tomato. She squeezes his hand with a mischievous smirk.

A slew of thoughts run through Mike's head, foremost among them being whether his death will come from Hopper or El. One of these days his heart is just going to give out, this emotional rollercoaster is too intense.

By the time they make it down to the water the sun is rising high above them, and Mike starts to wish he could unzip his jacket without revealing the big secret.

Max and Dustin get into a stone skipping competition straight away, still arguing about the best technique. Max favors a backhand cast coming from the wrist, whereas Dustin argues for a forehand cast from the elbow.

For a little while, they seem just like any other bunch of eighth grade friends, having fun on their Spring Break. Almost as if none of their shared trauma ever happened, and they can pretend to be normal friends.

Of course, the universe can't allow them to get _too_ happy...

"Hey, look! It's the freak show!" An unfortunately familiar voice shouts.

A collective chill runs down their spines as they turn to see Troy and his band of friends coming toward them. They'd been so content watching their friends' competition, they hadn't even heard the bullies coming.

As the larger group spreads out in front of them, cutting off any chance they have to run, Mike steps in front of El.

"Bet you guys missed me this week, didn't you?" Troy asks cockily.

"Yeah, like an ear infection," Dustin mutters under his breath.

Unfortunately Troy hears him, stepping ever closer to the party.

"Something to say, Toothless?" The bully demands.

"Leave us alone, Troy!" Mike shouts, getting his attention.

"Or what, Frogface?" Troy responds, advancing toward Mike now. "Or _what_?"

He gets right in Mike's face, daring him to retaliate.

"Mike..." El whispers from behind him, gently touching his arm.

Troy only just seems to notice the girl behind Mike, and then he starts to laugh.

"Did you finally get a girlfriend, Frogface?" He asks, stepping back to hold his sides. "Is she blind? Or did you spring her from the looney bin?"

"Shut up Troy," Mike growls, his hands clenched into fists.

"She must be crazy, to go out with you," Troy continues, getting a few chuckles from his posse. "Probably lets you do whatever you want to her, right? That seems right up your alley, Frogface."

"I said, shut up," Mike repeats, visibly trembling from how hard he's clenching his muscles. Still, with Mike's spaghetti arms, he'd probably hurt himself more than Troy by punching him.

"Bet she's into the freaky shit in bed, right Frogface?" Troy mocks, quirking an eyebrow. "Probably some daddy issues to boot. Hey, when she finally realizes how much of a loser you are, why don't you send her my way? I'll show her a _really_ good time since you can't."

That's where Mike loses it, his foot having a very forceful meeting with Troy's groin. Troy is too preoccupied with his mocking to brace himself, leaving himself wide open. The bully's laughter turns to a cry of pain, and he falls to the ground clutching himself.

"Troy!" One of the other kids exclaims, seeing his leader go down, and then he starts toward Mike. "You're dead Wheeler, dead!"

Not knowing what else to do in his panic as certain death approaches, Mike blindly shoves out at him, almost knocking himself over since the other boy is still so far away. He only barely makes contact with the boy's chest.

The boy flies backward into his two of his friends, knocking all three of them to the ground in a jumbled heap.

Troy scrambles to his feet, still hunched over a little, but his eyes go wide in terror. Not of Mike though, Mike is all but forgotten. His gaze is on El.

"You're that freak!" He cries, already backing away. "Let's get out of here!"

With that he turns and runs, the few of his friends still standing following quickly behind. The three on the ground scramble to their feet and run, throwing a few curses over their shoulders.

The party is left in stunned silence, watching their tormentors flee.

"Are you okay?" El asks, gently laying and hand on Mike's arm again.

This manages to snap Mike out of his daze, and then he starts to panic, again.

"We need to go," He says, grabbing El's arm and starting toward the bikes. "This is so not good, Hopper's going to murder me."

"What should we do?" Lucas asks as they all gather their things at light speed.

"You guys go to the station, tell Hopper what happened," Mike answers as he helps El onto the back of the bike. She doesn't seem to understand his panic too well, but isn't going to argue with him now. "I need to get her back to the cabin."

"Make sure you radio when you get there," Will reminds his friend as they all climb back onto their bikes.

The party splits in two quite quickly, Mike and El going back the way they'd come, and the others following the way Troy and his buddies had gone, toward town.

Tense doesn't really do justice to the atmosphere of the bike ride to the cabin. Mike keeps looking behind them every ten seconds to check for cars, and to assure himself that El is still there.

He ditches his bike by the start of the path, running through the woods with El at his side. It's not until they're behind the locked door of the cabin that Mike remembers to breathe again.

By now El is starting to get concerned, and a little panicked, as well. Mike fusses over her for several minutes, making sure she's okay and comfortable, before finally going over to the radio, already tuned to the appropriate frequency.

The rest of the party would have had a much shorter trip than the two of them, so Hopper should be informed by now. He sends the code for HOME through the radio, waits twenty seconds, and then repeats.

On the fifth cycle he finally gets a response, COMING. He finally puts the transmitter down and takes several deep breaths.

"Hopper's on his way," He says, going back to sit with El on the couch.

They sit there in silence for a while, the only sound coming from Mike nervously tapping his foot. Mike stares down at the ground, biting his lip in thought, while El just stares at him in concern.

"Are you okay?" El asks again, finally breaking the silence when she can't take it anymore, and Mike just gives her a confused look.

"Am I okay?" He repeats, as if he can't understand the question. "What about you, El? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She tells him. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Of course I'm fine, nothing happened to me," Mike says. "Why did you throw him? You know you're not supposed to use powers in public."

"They were going to hurt you," El replies, like it should be obvious to him.

"That's nothing they haven't done before, El. I can handle it," Mike persists, the tension building in his voice. "Troy recognized you. What if he starts telling people about you? You won't be safe."

"I don't want you to get hurt," She states matter-of-factly, still not understanding why Mike is getting so upset about this. Just this morning he'd been thanking her for doing the same thing. "I promised."

"And you promised not to use your powers in public," Mike retorts, his foot tapping even more anxiously on the floor of the cabin. "What if this sets us back to square one? What if the bad men find out?"

With that he gets up and starts pacing back and forth. Where's Hopper when you really need him? The way he drives, he should be here any minute.

"I couldn't just let them-" El starts, but she doesn't get the chance to finish.

"Yes, you could!" Mike explodes, startling El a little at the sudden volume, but mainly from the fact that he's yelling at her. He's never raised his voice with her before, ever. "Troy would have given me a black eye, and that would have been it! It's what he's done my entire life! I can handle him!"

"I just wanted to help!" El shouts back, on the verge of tears. "Why is that bad?!"

"Because now you might be in danger!" Mike exclaims, just as close to tears as El, his voice breaking. "I've put up with Troy my entire life, he doesn't matter! I can't lose you again!"

"And I can't just do nothing when you're going to get hurt!" El retorts, her voice every bit as hurt and broken as Mike's. "It hurts me when you get hurt, in here!"

Her hand flies to her chest, and several things in the cabin start to shake. Neither of them even seem to notice.

"And it hurts me even more when you're in danger because of me!" Mike yells. "Danger means we can't see each other! Or that you might get hurt, or worse! I couldn't live with myself if the person I love most got hurt again because of me!"

"I can take care of myself!" El shouts, the entire cabin vibrating around them, the locks all shifting position, and the windows threatening to shatter. "I'm not the one who needs protecting! Whenever _anything_ happens, _I'm_ the one who has to keep _you_ safe! I don't need you!"

Mike is too stunned to say anything at all, his tears finally spilling over. El's hands fly to her mouth when she realizes what she said. What he said before that...

"Mike..." She whispers through her hands.

Unfortunately, her words are drowned out by Hopper kicking the door open at that same moment, coming in with a rifle in his hands and a shotgun on his back. He clears the corners of the cabin, his gaze finally settling on the two teens crying in his living room.

He doesn't have long to process it. Mike shoves past him in tears, running back down the path before Hopper can think to stop him.

"Mike!" El calls after him, the windows rattling again, tears starting to run.

He just keeps running, whether he heard her or not, and El starts to cry in earnest, her face in her hands.

"El, sweetie, what happened?" Hopper asks, crossing the distance between them in a few steps and kneeling beside her, setting his rifle on the ground.

El's response it to telekinetically push him away and run to her room in tears. Her door slams shut and locks, and her dresser moves in front of it as a barricade. She collapses in the corner, curling into a ball, massive sobs racking her whole body.

Hopper taps on the door, to no response.

"El?" He calls through it. "I can't help you until you tell me what's wrong."

El just keeps crying in her corner, the last few minutes playing in an endless loop in her mind. They'd both said a lot of things to each other, most of which she _knows_ was just because they were both upset, they didn't mean to hurt each other.

The part that hurts the most, though, is the part she knows was true...

When Mike said he loved her, for the first time...

And how had she responded? She'd thrown it in his face by screaming that she didn't need him. Like Mike didn't even matter to her, after he said something that important.

And how wrong she was. When Mike left, it's like he took half of her soul with him. Every little shred of joy, all the happiness she'd built up since escaping from the lab, went with him too. And that left her with nothing to dull the pain, to stave off the crushing sadness that she'd slowly been managing to put behind her.

It left her without her shield, against the terrors of her memories and imagination. Every bad memory she'd ever experienced, every nightmare she'd ever had, every terrible feeling of her short life, comes welling up all at once. They play over and over, forcing her to relive each and every trauma she's ever been through. It's like some terrible movie, that last thing she'd screamed at him playing each time, always followed by another horror.

The dread of the bad men putting that _thing_ on her head again...

The hours, even days, of crushing loneliness in that copper-colored room...

The needles piercing her skin during experiments...

Being locked in the bath...

Finding the demogorgon, and opening the gate...

The nice man being shot for helping her...

Waking up in the Upside Down, and having to leave Mike alone...

Seeing him call her, every night, broken and despairing...

Mike running from the cabin, because he hates her, because she ruined _everything_ between them...

"I need you..." She whimpers into her knees. "Mike..."

The cabin still shakes around her, each sob sending new vibrations through it. Books and knick knacks fall from the shelves, the windows strain in their frames, and dishes rattle in their cupboards, threatening to spill out onto the floor.

By the time Hopper manages to get the door open, meaning smash it apart with an axe, El has cried herself to semi-consciousness, still murmuring those four words. He shoves the dresser out of the way and rushes over to her, scooping her up in his arms. She starts to wake up a little in his embrace, but only slowly.

"I'll kill him for this," He growls, seeing the state his daughter is in, because of Mike. He should have shot the boy when he had the chance.

"I'm scared," El says in her half-consciousness, her voice meek and terrified. "I need Mike..."

"I don't think Mike is the answer here," Hopper responds as gently as he can, but plotting _exactly_ where to hide the kid's body when he's done. "If it weren't for him, this wouldn't be happening."

"No!" El cries suddenly, terror shocking her to full consciousness, frantically grabbing at Hopper's uniform shirt, starting to cry all over again. She can barely get words out around the tears. "It's my... my fault. I... I t-told him... that I... didn't n-need... h-him."

She lets out a choked sob, burying her head against Hopper's barrel chest. He holds her closer, comfortingly rubbing her back as best he can.

"I _need_ him," El insists after another minute, before a fresh wave of sobs breaks out. Hopper is at a loss for what to do, this never happened in any of his relationships when he was younger. Granted, he also hadn't dated any psychic girls, or any girls with a history remotely like El's. This is new territory for him too.

Hopper sits on the side of El's bed, unable to do anything as she cries herself into an uneasy sleep. He tucks her in once she's fully unconscious, but knows it probably won't last long.

He gathers some stuff in her room, like food and water, a chair, and an extra pillow and blanket. There won't be much sleep in his future, especially since it's only just after noon, but he likes to be prepared.

That leaves him a lot of time to think, about his precious little girl sleeping in front of him, and about the boy she seems so far beyond obsessed with. The one that caused _this_ to happen.

At first he'd thought it was just a silly little crush, the kind that always start to pop up in middle schoolers. Then he'd gotten that first picture, and the story that went with it, and his view had started to change, willingly or not.

He'd thought about seeing their reunion, and the conversation he and Mike had in private. He thought about the months of El asking about him, saying that she _needed_ to see him. About how El had _begged_ him to let her go to the Snowball.

Then the boy had come to him before Valentine's Day with another hair brained scheme. He'd written it off as another part of that silly crush phase, but then he saw all the work Mike had put into it. And not only had the boy cleaned his trailer better than Hopper ever had, he'd asked El to be his girlfriend. While not the most serious step, it showed that Mike was mature enough not to just assume he and El were a couple, or just decide for her.

In every instance he can think of, Mike always made El happy, made her better. _He's_ the reason El follows the rules, not because of Hopper. _He's_ the reason she'll do her chores, or her homework, or anything else, when asked, not Hopper.

Which brings him to today.

He hadn't been happy to see them all over each other on the ground this morning, and he won't deny moving the curtains with his gun where Mike could see, but he knew El was happy. That's about the only guarantee he can ever get when it comes to El; El plus Mike equals happy.

Then four kids had come rushing into his police station during his noon donut and coffee break. He'd ushered them back to his office before they said something they shouldn't, and then listened to their story.

At first he'd been furious, at El for using her powers in public when he'd explicitly told her not to, and at the kids for letting it get to the point that she had to. Then he'd told them all to go home, and almost missed the radio signal coming in. He sent his response, and didn't wait for a confirm before leaving the station.

He'd made the drive in record time, faster than he'd ever driven before. His rifle and shotgun are always under the back seat, ready for emergencies. The entire walk, or rather run, to the cabin, he fully expected to see government agents swarming the place, or those dogs crawling around. That feeling had only gotten stronger when he could see the cabin shaking and rattling from a distance.

What he got was two teenagers crying in his living room, having what was probably the first fight of their relationship. Before he could even react to anything, or ask any questions, Mike had stormed off in tears, and El had sealed herself in her room shortly after.

In his day, he'd had many a fight with many a girlfriend, but always over something stupid. This didn't seem like it had been over something stupid, that's not how these two kids interacted. Mike, at least, knew better than to get mad at El about something trivial.

Come to think of it, he'd never even seen Mike get annoyed with her before at all, about anything, so this fight came as even more of a shock. The only insight he has into what they actually fought about was what El had told him, that she'd said she didn't need Mike, which was just before he'd come in.

Mike had never seemed to have that big of an ego before, which means there must have been something else. He wouldn't have left otherwise, which is Hopper's big red flag in all of this. Normally it takes thinly veiled threats to get the boy to leave, but he'd just stormed off on his own. He hadn't even said goodbye.

And so, as the day wears on and turns into night, Hopper continues to think, interrupted only when he has to soothe his daughter through a nightmare.

There are a lot of nightmares that night.

XxX

In the morning, Hopper feels like he didn't sleep at all. It must have been every twenty or thirty minutes that El found herself in the throes of another nightmare.

Needless to say, he plans to take the day off.

When El gets up, Hopper is making breakfast. She ignores him completely, curling into a ball on the couch. As he waits for the waffles to pop up in the toaster, he goes to get the dishes he left in her room last night.

The first thing he notices is El's half-hearted attempt to hide clothes under the bed, the ones she'd been wearing all last night, and the blanket that's only half covering a big wet spot on the bed. Hopper groans in his mind, thinking back to the first few weeks El had been here.

Her nightmares had been more frequent back then, when everything was still new to her in the cabin, even Hopper. When she wet the bed the first time she'd seemed so scared that Hopper would kick her out, it took over an hour to calm her down. That wasn't the only time either.

It hadn't happened for over a year, though, once she finally felt safe in the cabin. After last night he definitely expected something, just not this. This whole situation is a bigger issue than he thought.

He cleans up as best he can, taking the sheet off the bed and taking the clothes she'd been wearing, putting them in a basket to be washed. Then he takes the finished waffles out of the toaster, hoping they'll at least cheer her up a little.

Even when he offers her eggos, the last ones in the box, she just shakes her head. That's the final straw for Hopper, making up his mind for what to do about this.

"Will you be okay here for an hour or two?" He asks, kneeling beside his daughter again. "There's something I need to do, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

El sullenly nods her head, and he gives her another hug, though she doesn't return it. She just stares blankly at the ground, her eyes as hollow as they are red and puffy from crying.

And so he sets off with one goal in mind: Find Mike.

He makes the obvious first stop at the Wheeler residence, mentally preparing himself for small talk. He plasters a smile on his face when Mrs. Wheeler opens the door, thankfully not her husband.

"Hi, Karen, nice to see you," He greets.

"Good morning, Jim," She replies with a smile of her own. "What can the Wheelers do for you today?"

"I'm actually looking for Mike," He answers. "I need to have a talk with him about something important."

"Is everything alright?" She asks, though it sounds more like a statement.

"No less than usual," He says, lying through his teeth. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Mike seemed really upset about something yesterday when he came home," She explains, giving the Chief a look that screams 'I'm not convinced'. "He locked himself in his room, wouldn't eat dinner, and refused to talk."

Hopper can't help but snort at that. Mike had done basically the same thing as El.

"And then this morning he said he was going to the store, and skipped breakfast too," Karen continues. "Still nothing you want to tell me about?"

Hopper lets out a sigh. Was it really too much to ask that Karen Wheeler be just as oblivious as her husband?

Of course, Nancy and Mike must get that annoying persistence from someone.

"Mike and Jane had their first fight," He tells her, and she just nods, her suspicions having been confirmed. "Jane's really broken up about it, and I don't know what to do to help her."

"They'll be perfectly fine," Karen assures him. "You should hear the way Mike talks about her, he won't let one fight get between them."

"I wish I had your confidence," Hopper comments, planning out the fastest way to get to the store from here.

"You'll see, mark my words," She tells him. "And since you still don't seem to believe me, I want you and Jane to come over for dinner this Sunday. I want to meet my future daughter-in-law before the wedding."

Hopper manages a small chuckle, though he doesn't find it nearly as amusing. All the same, he agrees just to get out of there faster. He leaves tire marks on the road and the smell of burning rubber in the air when he peels out.

XxX

It's not hard for Mike to ignore the questioning looks from the shoppers at the Big-Buy, or from the cashier. He doesn't even seem to notice when the lady holds his twenty dollar bill up to the light, or eyes the boxes of eggos on the belt suspiciously, as if he must have some nefarious purpose.

Ironically, at just under $2 a box, he has eleven in total.

As he walks out of the store, plastic bags brimming with eggo boxes, he keeps rehearsing his apology under his breath.

"El, I'm sorry," He murmurs, the fight from yesterday still repeating in his mind.

He's almost completely oblivious to the world around him as he walks to his bike, hanging the bags from the handlebars before fumbling to unlock it from the rack. While doing that, he completely misses Hopper pulling into the parking lot, Hopper getting out of his car, and Hopper walking up behind him.

Until Hopper clears his throat, Mike is completely oblivious, well learned from his father over the years. But when he hears the familiar sound he almost wets himself, scrambling back from his bike and falling back on his hands.

He sees his whole life flash before his eyes as Hopper glares down at him. This isn't how everything is supposed to end...

"Let's go," Hopper tells him, and then turns away.

It's a wonder Mike doesn't wet himself then either, the relief that spreads through him making almost every muscle relax as he collapses onto the sidewalk.

"Hurry up!" Hopper shouts from his truck, which jolts Mike into action.

He finally gets his bike unlocked, wheeling it over apprehensively. Hopper removes the shopping bags from the handlebars and puts it in the back. He doesn't say anything else, getting in the driver's seat as Mike hurriedly collects his bags, getting in the passenger seat and trying to disappear altogether.

Neither of them say anything as Hopper drives, but the knot in Mike's stomach gets painful when Hopper pulls down an unfamiliar dirt road, stopping in a small clearing and turning off the engine.

"Get out," Hopper orders, doing the same thing himself.

Mike does so slowly, his heart pounding in his chest hard enough to break out. He can feel himself sweating, even from places he didn't know _could_ sweat. It gets infinitely worse when Hopper pulls a shovel out from the back seat.

"Come here," Hopper says, walking toward the edge of the clearing.

Mike's legs feel like jelly, but they move of their own volition, bringing him closer to his death step-by-step. The boy flinches when Hopper stabs the shovel into the ground, stopping a few feet away.

"Take a good look around, Mike," Hopper tells him. "What do you see here?"

Mike's mouth opens, and he tries to put together words, but it comes out as mostly unintelligible garbage. It's only on his tenth try that he manages speech.

"N-n-nothing," He answers, just short of shaking in his sneakers. "S-sir."

"That's right, there's nothing around here," Hopper responds, taking the shovel out of the ground again. "And that also means that there's nobody around here either. Not many people know about this place, do you know what that means?"

"N-n-n-no, s-s-sir," Mike stutters, his breath catching in his throat.

"It means that nobody will ever think to look for you here," Hopper answers, enjoying when Mike gulps. "And I promise you, if you ever make El upset like this ever again, this will be your _permanent_ home."

On the word 'permanent' Hopper jabs the shovel into the ground, making Mike flinch again. The only thing Hopper might enjoy more is if the boy actually wet himself in fear.

"Do I make myself clear?" Hopper asks, rooting Mike the ground with his glare.

Mike nods, too scared to speak, but Hopper doesn't seem happy with that.

"I said, do I make myself clear?!" The man roars.

"Y-yes sir!" Mike exclaims, going rigid.

A big wet spot starts to spread down Mike's jeans, and Hopper allows himself a satisfied smirk, on the inside at least.

"Get in the car," He orders, picking up the shovel again. "And if you pee on my seat, the same rules apply."

Mike manages to stumble back to the car and collapse in the front seat. He counts his blessings that Hopper didn't actually put him six feet under.

Hopper doesn't say anything more on the next part of the drive, back to Mike's house for new pants. In total, it's been about an hour, which is still too long for El to be on her own for his liking.

Once Mike comes back with fresh clothes on he sets off for the cabin, keeping the gruff expression despite how pleased he is on the inside. Mike squirming in the passenger seat is just an added bonus.

When he stops at the beginning of the path he doesn't turn off the engine.

"I'm going to trust you to handle this on your own," He says, internally smirking at Mike's fear of him. "Since you brought eggos for a small army, I'll be back at dinnertime. If El isn't smiling by then, you know what will happen. Understand?"

"Y-yes sir," Mike responds, white as a sheet.

"Then get out," He commands, and fights down a chuckle as the boy scrambles out of the truck, running off down the path with his bags, his bike completely forgotten in the back of the truck.

XxX

Mike can't decide which is more stressful, apologizing to his telekinetic girlfriend, or getting a very direct threat on his life if he screws it up.

And to make matters worse, the overstuffed bags of eggo boxes tear open halfway down the path, leaving him to hopelessly figure out how to carry eleven boxes at once without dropping them. It's a wonder he makes it past the tripwire, let alone up to the door.

He hesitates on the knock, his entire plan coming into question. What if she's still mad at him? What if she doesn't want to see him again? What if he already screwed everything up between them?

The answer to his question comes when the door swings open, the boxes in his hands fly everywhere of their own volition, and El tackles him to the ground, crying into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," She cries over and over, squeezing him as tight as her arms will allow. "I do need you, I _always_ need you."

Mike's whole apology speech dies in his throat. Why was she apologizing to him? It's supposed to be the other way around, isn't it?

"Please don't leave me again," She pleads between sobs. "Please."

"I won't, I promise," He assures her, finally finding his voice again. " _I'm_ supposed to be the one apologizing to _you_. I shouldn't have yelled at you, you were only trying to help and I got mad at you for it. I'm so sorry."

"B-but I put us in d-danger," El whimpers, unable to control the quivering in her voice. "You t-told me you l-loved me, and I r-ruined it."

She presses her head into the crook of his neck, feeling awful all over again.

"No, El, listen to me," Mike pleads, trying to get her to look at him. It's not easy to separate her from him that much, but he manages it. "You didn't ruin anything, you were just upset, and I made you angry."

"But-"

"El, no," Mike insists before she can even say a whole sentence, and then takes a deep breath. This is something he'd practiced in front of the mirror a million times, but never had the stones to actually say to her. "I love you, more than anything else in the world, and there's nothing anyone can do to change that, especially not you."

Mike isn't all too sure what he expects her reaction to be, romance isn't exactly his area of expertise, but crying definitely isn't it. When El redoubles her sobbing into his shoulder, his first thought is what he might have done wrong.

"I love you too," She manages to choke out, and his whole body turns numb.

The idea of El saying it back to him had never crossed his mind. There was no way someone as interesting, or beautiful, or powerful, or just plain _amazing_ and _perfect_ as El could ever fall in love with Mike Wheeler, is there? He's just an average, nerdy, awkward, skinny, clumsy wastoid of a human being. Not even his own father seems to have any interest in him, why would anyone else?

But then, why would that interesting, beautiful, powerful, amazing, _perfect_ girl be crying on _his_ shoulder? Why would she be crying about _him_? About how _she_ needs _him_ , as if he were the amazing one between them, when he feels like _he_ needs _her_ more than air in his lungs.

He loves her, with everything he has, and somehow, she loves him too. Not just as friends, or even just more-than-friends, the fear of which has kept him mute for months, she loves him the same way he loves her.

Now he knows, now they _both_ know.

Mike finally understands why El is crying after his declaration, tears welling up in his eyes as well, tears of joy. And so they cry together, wrapped tightly in each other's arms on the front porch of the cabin, scattered boxes of eggos laying around them. They cry until they can't anymore, words between them incapable of saying more than they can feel from the other.

Something opens between them, not something that can be seen or touched, but something inside. A door they'd both been keeping locked until now, ever afraid that the person they love so much would change their mind, a doorway to their innermost being. Without a moment's hesitation, or a single second thought, they let each other in.

And nothing will ever close that door again.

XxX

"Come on, we're going to be late!" Hopper calls from his spot by the door.

"Hold your horses, Hop," Joyce chides, coming out of El's room where she'd been helping the girl get ready. "El wants to look her best when she meets Mike's parents, you can't rush her."

"Does it really matter?" Hopper questions in exasperation. "Karen already loves her, and they haven't even met each other yet. And from what I hear about Ted, he might not even be awake the entire time we're there."

"You better hope she doesn't hear you when you say that," Joyce warns him. "She wants to make a good first impression on his parents, this is important to her."

"I know, I know, but she's been getting ready for almost four hours, ever since Mike brought her back from your house," Hopper responds, holding up his hands in surrender. "And thank you, for coming with us. Socializing is still new to the both of us, we really need your help."

"You mean _you_ need my help," Joyce retorts as she grabs her coat. "El is an amazingly polite and sweet girl, and I'm sure she and Mike will be glued together all night, so she'll have him to help. _You're_ the one who plans to punch things first and ask questions never."

"I'm working on it," Hopper says defensively. "I didn't cause _any_ bodily harm to Mike after what happened."

"And what about the clearing?" Joyce shoots back, giving him the eye. "And you brought a _shovel_ with you? He already felt terrible about it, _and_ he was on his way to apologize. Was that _really_ necessary?"

"You're not a single father, you wouldn't understand," Hopper answers, trying to feign indignance and examine an interesting knot in the ceiling.

Joyce huffs at him, ready to continue their verbal battle, until she hears the sound of footsteps. She and Hopper both turn to see El exit her room, nervously fingering the blue and white sundress that she's wearing. Joyce gives her an encouraging smile, and Hopper looks amazed. The wild child he brought into his cabin well over a year ago has grown into a beautiful young woman.

"Pretty?" El asks hesitantly, looking down at the beat up converse on her feet. Despite their attempts to give her new shoes, she still wears the converse Mike had given her during that first week, and surprisingly they still fit.

"You look beautiful," Hopper tells her before Joyce gets the chance.

"They're going to just eat you up," Joyce comments, to which El's eyes widen, and her breathing starts to quicken. Joyce mentally scolds herself, metaphors and sarcasm still tend to go over El's head. "Not literally, they won't actually eat you. It means they'll love you."

El nods, her breathing starting to slow down again.

"They won't get the chance if we don't leave," Hopper announces, gesturing to the clock on the radio. They have ten minutes to make the twenty minute trip to the Wheeler's before they're late.

El panics when she sees the time, the door flying open behind Hopper of its own volition. She grabs her coat and runs past the two adults.

"She knows the car is locked, right?" Joyce asks with a bemused smile.

"I'm sure she'll figure it out," Hopper responds, helping Joyce get her coat on.

"Well then, we should go before she decides to run all the way there," Joyce says, striding out the door, leaving Hopper to close it behind them.

XxX

For once in his life, _Mike_ is the one making sure everything in the house looks perfect. His mother had done the cleaning as usual, but Mike had gone over it all again, till every surface shines in the light. He'd even cleaned his room, and the basement, and the living room twice. Now, without anything left to clean, he's resorted to pacing around the house.

"Nervous much?" Nancy teases when she comes down the stairs.

As much as he wants to say otherwise, Mike is far beyond nervous. What if his parents don't like El? What if they start asking too many questions? What if something bad happens during dinner?

What if he pees himself again?

"Calm down, Mike," Nancy tells him when he doesn't respond, walking over to lay a hand on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine. Mom already wants to like her, dad probably won't even notice that we have people over, and Holly loves everyone. You're worrying yourself for nothing."

"But what if something goes wrong?" Mike asks, tapping his fingers against his jeans. "Like if they start asking about where she grew up? What am I supposed to do when that happens?"

"You're supposed to help her, simple as that," Nancy answers with a little smirk. "If she seems stuck, give her something to work with. Talk about some weird uncle she told you about, or that time she went to the beach. Just make something up for her, mom isn't going to care _what_ she says."

"But what if-"

Mike is cut off by the doorbell ringing, his head flying to look out the window. Nancy laughs at his expression when he realizes that he missed the Blazer getting there, of course, that had been part of her plan.

When he hears his mom's footsteps heading to get the door, he springs into action, racing to get there first. With his mother only a few feet behind him, Mike throws the door open, his heart racing.

Everything stops when he sees them standing there, El especially. She looks just as nervous as Mike does, nervously gripping her sundress with both hands, but it only makes her seem more beautiful to him. Somehow, they resist the urge to tackle hug each other, as is their standard greeting.

"H-hi, El," Mike manages to stammer out after a few moments.

"Hi Mike," She murmurs shyly.

"Michael, are you going to invite our guests inside?" His mother asks when the two resume staring at each other. "Or are we going to have our dinner in the doorway tonight?"

Mike blushes a furious red, stepping aside so everyone can come inside. El stands next to him, twining their fingers together and squeezing for comfort. Hopper and Mrs. Wheeler shakes hands, and the two moms greet each other with a quick hug. Even Ted comes in to say hello, having just finished his mid-afternoon nap.

"And you must be Jane," Mrs. Wheeler says, turning to look at El.

The girl fidgets under all the attention, trying her best to smile politely. Strangers, especially adults, are hard for her to be comfortable around. Even with Mike's invaluable presence by her side, she still can't manage to speak.

"She's a bit shy," Joyce steps in when El doesn't say anything. "Just give it a little while, she's a real chatterbox when she relaxes."

"Well, I know that feeling," Mrs. Wheeler responds with a laugh. "I normally need a few glasses of wine though, so you're doing better than me."

The adults chuckle a little, so El does her best to laugh too. Mike stands there with his face burning in embarrassment, wishing his family didn't act they way they do.

"Ted, why don't you go get the grill started?" Mrs. Wheeler suggests, giving her husband a pointed look once the conversation reaches a lull.

"If you say so," He says, slowly ambling around and heading toward the kitchen. They soon hear the sound of cutlery being taken from the drawer, followed by the freezer being opened and closed.

"You know what?" Hopper announces all of a sudden. "I think I'll go help him. My grandad used to have this special grilling method, makes a perfect burger."

"Oh, I'm sure Ted would love the company," Mrs. Wheeler replies. Joyce hides her smile at him for embracing the dad-role.

With that, Hopper goes to join Ted in the backyard by the grill, which is exactly when Mike takes the chance to start pulling El away.

"We'll be in the basement, call us if you need us!" He calls back to his mother and Mrs. Byers, both of whom try not to laugh. They race past Nancy, who had just gone to get Holly, and who also tries not to laugh.

Both kids sigh in relief once they're in the basement and away from prying eyes. They finally get their greeting hug, though significantly less forceful than normal.

"Sorry Mike, that wasn't a great start," El murmurs, disappointed in her performance. She'd really thought her people skills were getting better. "I'm just-"

"Nervous?" Mike finishes for her. "I know, but you're doing really well. We only _need_ to be around them while we eat, the rest we can be down here. And I'll be with you all night, I promise."

"I thought _I_ was supposed to be the psychic one," She responds with a pout, gently pushing him away to look around. It's been so long since she was actually down here, but it still seems so familiar, and comfortable.

Mike can't help the grin on his face as El takes in the room.

"I haven't changed anything," He tells her proudly. "It's not like we change it much anyway, but I made sure everything stayed the same."

"You kept it up," El says quietly, running a hand over the front of her old fort.

"Of course I kept it," Mike responds, as if it should be obvious. "This was your home, for a little while at least. Taking it down would mean you had nowhere to come home to."

El lifts the blanket from the front and crawls inside, patting the space next to her for Mike to lay down. It was never meant to hold two people, so they have to keep close together, most of their lower bodies sticking out of the front.

"That's not true," She informs him once he's settled in beside her, their faces only inches from one another. "This fort wasn't my home, Mike, you were."

She leans forward to kiss him before he can say anything, savoring how close they can finally be, the way it always should have been. Every little detail comes through sharper than before, like the way their bodies almost fit together like puzzle pieces, the way their hair always tries to get in their way, the softness of the other's lips against their own, the way El's hands gently curl into the shirt on Mike's chest, or the way Mike's arm never fails to hold her ever closer.

"You always will be," She whispers when they break apart, their eyes locked together, but looking so much deeper. Now that the door is open, they can see everything about each other in there.

Rather than say anything at all, knowing it can't compare to what he tells her with his eyes, Mike simply leans in to kiss her again. With a simple action he tries to convey all of his love, the truest and purest that can be, to her.

And she does the same.

* * *

Well, wasn't that nice?

Getting to write dad-Hopper is amazing because I can go so many ways. I feel like a lot of people go into how intimidating he can be, and then never actually let Hopper do anything more than be an intimidating presence. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to show how far Hopper will go to keep El safe and happy, and what he'll do to Mike if he's ever anything less than a perfect gentleman with El. Plus, Hopper is definitely the type to enjoy his daughter's boyfriend being afraid of him.

I legitimately cannot see the two of them fighting over anything else. Each of them wants the other to be safe and protected from all harm, even if it means being in harm's way themselves. Even in this fight, El _knew_ that they weren't really mad or upset with each other, they were mad and upset with the situation, and that just spilled over into everything else(because they're kids, emotional control doesn't exactly come with the territory). As we saw in season 2, they can both throw a world-class tantrum, and with tension and concern running as high as it would have been in that situation, it seemed like a perfect time to get their first(and probably only actual) fight out of the way.

As for how they both reacted, I went a lot farther into El's reasoning than Mike's, but you'll find out more about him in the next chapter. I'm so excited to write the next chapter of this because I finally get to deal with some of my problems that the show hasn't addressed yet. By the end of that chapter you're all probably going to hate me so much, and I literally can't wait, it's going to be awesome.

By the way, I now have a beta-reader by the name of Writing Tired! They're amazing, and I've been discussing ideas with them because we have similar styles(from what I've seen so far). I've sent them pieces of the next chapter already, and apparently I'm just an evil human being, so I can't wait to find out what the rest of you think next time.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break

In Progress- mystery surprise(*insert evil laughter here)

To Do- summer break(start), 4th of July, something for end of summer, and the start of school

Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6: Six Ways to Sunday

Welcome, people of the internet!

Sorry this has been so long coming, I've had real life stuff to deal with in the last month. On the bright side, I had a burst of inspiration after writing this(for the third time) and wrote the next part as well. Unfortunately, I'm evil, so I won't be putting that up right away, also because I know better than to deplete my chapter pool that quickly when I'm prone to writer's block.

I actually meant to post this a few days ago, but real life keeps getting in the way.

I know I promised that I would be well and truly malicious and evil in this chapter, but that didn't sit well with my mind, so I've spread the maliciousness out a bit more. I know for a fact that some of you are going to hate my guts after reading these next few chapters(the next one especially), and I'm honestly so excited.

Thank you for your patience, the chapter is ready now...

* * *

"Ha!" Mike exclaims, jumping up victoriously. "Boardwalk is mine!"

His friends groan around him, the end of the game in sight. Somehow, Mike is always lucky enough to land on the last open spaces of a set, plus both of the utilities and two of the railroads. They even checked if he had somehow started using loaded dice, but since they all used the same set, it didn't get anywhere.

"You better not be cheating for your boyfriend, El," Max warns, throwing a dubious glare at the other girl.

"I don't know what you're talking about," El responds innocently, laying her head on Mike's shoulder once he sits down again. "I'm not even playing this time."

She _may_ have been making sure the dice land on whatever number Mike needs, and she _may_ have kept the others' rolls from landing them on open property most of the time, but she also _may not_ have done any of that.

That she'll ever admit to, at least.

In the next few rounds all of their friends go bankrupt one by one, mortgaging each property they'd saved up. Mike just keeps raking in money, a huge grin on his face that El loves to see. Every time he sweeps up a property to complete his sets, Mike turns to her with that grin, and she smiles back up at him. If not for the _possible_ use of psychic powers, they could be just like any other young couple.

"Victory!" Mike cheers once Max is finally forced to declare bankruptcy, all of her properties mortgaged. Both fists are raised in the air as he turns to grin at El once again, expecting to see the same grin coming back at him.

What he gets is a split second to see El just before she presses their mouths together, Mike's fists still victoriously in the air. Their friends roll their eyes and scowl at the couple, all suspicious of Mike's uncanny good luck, but they know by now that anything they say will fall on deaf ears. Mike and El are dead to the world when their lips are pressed together, which is precisely why they miss Hopper entering the room, drawn by the victorious shout, signalling the end of the game. They even miss the slew of giggles from their friends that come just before Hopper loudly clears his throat.

The two separate quickly, though not quite willingly, despite Mike's intense blush. With his arms still raised when Hopper comes in, it looks like Mike is triumphantly claiming a kiss from El, the mere idea of which makes Hopper annoyed.

"Time to go," He informs the group, with a special glower toward Mike and his daughter. "Pack it up."

Even when El pouts at him he remains firm, and eventually she sighs. Never one to let her adoptive father get the last laugh, she plants another big kiss on Mike's lips in full view of the surly Chief, making sure that at least some of her cherry flavored chapstick transfers to his lips. Hopper grumbles something inaudible about kids and their stupid rebellious phases as he turns finally turns away.

"See you on Friday?" El asks hopefully, looking at Mike, but really addressing the group. Friday and Saturday are when they all hang out together, and Sunday is reserved for her and Mike to have their time alone.

"Of course," Mike answers, looking right back into her eyes, knowing there's nothing else he would rather be doing, at any point in his life.

"We'll come too," Will pipes up, finally getting their attention.

"That is, if you two aren't planning your honeymoon for that day," Dustin chimes in, getting his three companions to laugh while Mike and El look indignant.

Once they finally get the game cleared up and their bags packed Hopper is waiting impatiently by the door. El gives them all goodbye hugs, and another quick kiss with Mike before Hopper can pull him out the door. She waves to them as they leave, closing and locking the door once they're out of sight.

As per usual, Mike's usual elation at seeing El is tinged by his sadness at having to leave again for another week. He knows El feels the same way, but at least she can see him whenever she wants, in the void. Using the supercoms is notoriously unreliable since Mike's range reaches nowhere close to the cabin, and even with El's extended range, the signal is sometimes absorbed by the trees.

Today they'd explored the woods again, to see if anything changed from spring break to the middle of May. He and Max had gotten into a competition to climb the highest in some trees, which Mike swears he would have won if all the upper branches weren't so weak. They made it through with no serious injuries, at which point El had suggested they go back and play some games.

Given that it had been a little chilly that morning, despite already being spring, Mike had worn his old AV club sweatshirt. Only fifteen minutes after leaving the cabin, the sun still rising from the horizon, he'd given said sweatshirt to El, thankful that he didn't need to wear the gun that day since they weren't venturing far from the cabin. The thought of it vaguely crosses his mind when they have to part ways, but he makes no move to take his sweatshirt back from her.

Ever since their fight two months ago, everything about Mike's life has seemed absolutely _perfect_. His grades are back to where they used to be, near the top of his class, and he even got the offer for a tutoring position with one of the school programs. For the most part he gets along with his parents, though his dad is still a stubborn ass sometimes.

Oh, and he has the _best_ girlfriend on the planet.

Compared to the dark cloud of the year without her, everything is sunshine and rainbows. His confidence is at an all time high, despite Troy's best efforts, even when it comes to the finer points of his and El's relationship. Where he used to turn into a stuttering tomato at the slightest provocation, now it feels _natural_ to be that close with her. Just getting to be next to her when they played their board games today had pushed every dark thought still trying to encroach on his mind to the barren edges of his psyche.

After sweeping them at scrabble and a few uninteresting rounds of sorry, El had decided she wanted to play monopoly. Despite their warnings about how long it can take to play, and how it strains friendships to the extreme, El insisted.

Now, two games later, with a victory apiece to El and Mike, the rest of the party is heading home. While Mike reaches that point of his memories of the day, he walks right into Will as he opens the passenger door.

"Sorry," He apologizes when Will gives him a questioning look.

"Something on your mind?" Will asks, ever observant.

"Just don't really want to leave, same as always," Mike tells him.

"I can tell, the way you two were sucking face back there," Will teases, getting a glare from his best friend.

"Just because I won't let Troy wedgie you at school doesn't mean _I_ won't do it you myself," Mike threatens, which only makes Will laugh.

"I'm so scared," Will responds with a fake tremble, but then looks down at his shoes. "But, you know, thanks for that, and all."

"You don't need to thank me, Will," Mike assures him with a smile. "You're my friend, we watch out for each other."

He and Will share a grin between them, one that the others wouldn't understand. It's just something that comes from being friends since kindergarten.

"My mom thanks you too," Will adds with a light laugh. "You've saved her hundreds in replacement underwear."

"I could always send you the bill," Mike retorts, wincing a little at the phantom pain that shoots through his nether regions.

"Hey, are you two going to stand around all night?" Hopper interrupts from inside the truck, the engine already roaring, and their friends finding places to hold on in the back. "Cause you can always walk."

"Sorry," They say at the same time.

Will climbs into the backseat, though that term is applied very loosely. In reality, there are two folding seats behind the driver's and passenger's seats, which Will can just squeeze into if he sits sideways. Still, at least it keeps him from rattling around in the back with their bikes, and he's the only one of them small enough to fit, so the others can't fight him for it. Mike claims the passenger seat, his limbs far too gangly to fit in the 'backseat', though it means he has to sit right next to Hopper for the entire ride.

As per usual, they ride in silence, not even the radio to break it up. Hopper isn't big on conversation, especially with kids, and the kids themselves don't want to have their conversations around the grumpy police chief.

About two minutes after they leave the dirt road behind, Mike gets a grimace on his face, and his breathing starts to quicken. Will, unsurprisingly, notices right away when it happens, reaching out to touch his friend's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He questions as Mike starts to turn pale.

Mike doesn't respond immediately, scrunching his eyes tight and clenching his hands into fists. Will almost jumps out of his skin when Mike's eyes snap open and he grabs Hopper's arm, the truck swerving a little before Hopper corrects it. The man's mouth opens to unleash an angry tirade, but Mike speaks first.

"We have to go back," He says, eyes wide, his voice verging on panic. "Something's wrong, El's in danger."

"What?" Hopper asks, his anger suddenly fading. "What do you mean danger? What kind of danger? How the _hell_ do you know?"

"I don't know how I know, and I don't know what kind of danger!" Mike tells him, veering ever closer to hyperventilating. "I just know that she's scared and she needs help!"

By now their friends are attempting to get their attention from the back, without any success. Hopper slows down just enough to make an illegal u-turn in the middle of the road, sending their friends sprawling, and then speeding back the way they'd come from.

"Mike, hey, Mike," Will calls, trying to get Mike to look at him, only barely getting his attention. "I know you're scared for her, but she needs you to stay calm right now, okay? You need to breathe, or you're going to start hyperventilating, and then you'll both be in trouble. Just do what I do, okay?"

Mike nods, his eyes still wide as his breathing comes in rapid bursts.

"Just look at me, nowhere else, only focus on me," Will tells him. "First, breathe in, a nice deep breath." He takes said breath to demonstrate. "Hold it for a few seconds, and then let it out slowly. Okay? Do it with me."

Mike nods again, his panicked eyes locking onto Will's. It takes well over a minute, but soon Mike's breathing slows down to normal, and the panic starts to fade away. Neither of them even dares to blink until their breathing is in sync, and Mike's pulse is no longer racing.

"We're going to help her," Will says, still not breaking eye contact. "We're in this together, we won't let anything happen to her."

Mike holds it for a little longer, as if he's unsure whether or not to believe him.

"Thanks," Mike murmurs a few moment later, finally dropping his eyes from Will's.

"You'd do the same for me," Will replies with a small smile.

Mike looks like he wants to say more, but the Blazer comes to an abrupt halt by the path right after Will's statement.

XxX

El sighs when her friends disappear down the path, the darkness swallowing them where her eyes can't reach. She goes back into the cabin, closes the door, and sets all the locks into place with her mind.

Without all her friends around, the cabin is quiet. It's nothing she isn't used to by now, but it's always most difficult to go back to it after her friends leave. El isn't particularly fond of the silence, because it means that she's just back to waiting.

The only silence she genuinely likes is the kind between her and Mike. When they're alone, they don't always need to be talking, or making noise at all. It's enough to be together, and if she really doesn't want it to be silent, she can lean in closer to hear him breathe, or listen to his heart beating in his chest. Those little sounds always give her a fuzzy feeling inside.

Rather than turn on the tv to try and fill the silence, she wanders into her bedroom, absently picking up her stuffed lion and hugging it to her chest. It's one of her favorite things to do when she's alone, to just lay down and let herself relax. It's easy with all of her favorite things around her, like the stuffed lion in her arms, or the old gray hoodie she's wearing with 'Hawkins AV 1983' printed on the back. One smells like Hopper, just a little after being in her care for so long, and the other smells like Mike, her favorite scent of all, still fresh from when he'd given it to her earlier that day.

Ever since their fight, almost two months ago now, things have been better between them than ever. All of Mike's awkward blushes and even his stuttering, while she still finds them adorably cute, are less frequent when they're alone. He's not hesitant to put his arm around her on the couch, even with Hopper around, or to run his fingers through her hair in the way that sends tingles down her spine.

El's nightmares have lessened considerably, Mike's words ringing through her every time. Sometimes, it's like he's even there beside her, taking her hand and giving her the strength to overcome the terrors of her mind. He always says that he plays as a paladin in the D&D campaigns, when he isn't the DM, which means that he's a protector, _her_ protector, whenever she needs him.

 _Knock knock knock_

The sound is quiet, but it still jars El from her thoughts. That isn't the secret knock from Hopper, or from Mike. It comes again, louder this time, rattling the door in its frame despite how many locks it has. Panic shoots through her veins like a cold fire, and it feels like her lungs constrict in her chest.

"Open the door, Jane!" A voice calls, adding a seed of confusion into her panic. The list of people that know her real name are few and far between. "I'm here to help you! Kali sent me!"

That name freezes everything, from El's panic to the blood in her veins. Kali, her sister. The one she'd gone out of her way to find, only to leave her just as quickly as she'd arrived. The one who taught her how to harness her anger to make herself stronger. The one who showed her that hiding isn't the only option.

The one who almost got her to kill a man.

Ray Carroll hadn't been innocent by any means, but he had a family. If El had killed him, she would have been no better than he was, the man who fried mama's brain for trying to get her daughter back. Kali may be her sister, but as she'd learned from her 'Papa', family doesn't always mean much.

The sound of glass breaking forces El into action, her adrenaline rushing as she prepares to use her powers. It's time for her to stop being scared every time something starts to remotely go wrong, time for her to be the same confident girl that found her Mama and her sister all on her own. Time to be the same powerful girl that drove the Mind Flayer back into the Upside Down and closed the gate.

Ready for a fight, she steps out of her room in time to see someone picking themselves up from the ground, shattered glass from the window scattered around them. Once they regain their feet, El discovers that it's a girl, probably not much older than herself, and only a few inches taller.

Her hair is a golden blonde like all the ladies on tv, reaching down to the small of her back, with obvious tangles throughout. Her eyes are gray, which surprises El a little, not knowing that could be a real eye color. The outfit is far more believable, and it helps her story of coming from Kali. She wears faded and ripped dark jeans, though the rips don't look purposeful, with a stained gray shirt and a black leather jacket over the top. Her skin is dusty and dirty, but somehow seems to not have a single blemish upon it.

"Jane," She says, a smile breaking out on her face. "I was starting to think I'd never get to see you. Sorry about the window."

She adds the last part a bit sheepishly, glancing back at the broken frame.

"Who are you?" El asks quietly, keeping her distance from the new girl.

"That's a pretty loaded question, more than you're expecting," The girl responds with a laugh. "But as for the simple stuff, my name is Elizabeth, call me Liz, or if you're a deranged psychopath with a government lab, call me Six."

With that she raises her left arm and slides her sleeve back, revealing the small black numbers, 006. After a moment's hesitation, El does the same, which makes the other girl grin at her.

"Well, now I can say I've met _two_ survivors," Liz comments, letting her sleeve fall back down as she walks closer to El. "Come on, we can talk on the way."

She makes to take El's hand, but the girl pulls back.

"The way to what?" El questions, fixing Liz with one of her signature stares.

"To the bus station," The girl responds, as if it should be obvious. "I came to get you out of here, you're not safe."

She reaches for El's hand again, but El pulls it away once more.

"This is my home," She says resolutely. "I'm not leaving."

Liz gives her a look of frustration, crossing her arms with a huff.

"Look, I get that you have friends here, but the longer you stay, the more danger everyone is going to be in," She tells the smaller girl. "It's a wonder they haven't sent one of their hunter teams after you already. We need to leave before they realize they can catch two birds with one net right now."

"I can handle the lab," El retorts confidently, denying the small rush of panic that rises up inside of her with the mention of hunters.

Liz actually starts to laugh, which doesn't help El's facade. The hard line of her mouth starts to waver, at least until Liz turns serious again at the drop of a pin.

"Trust me, I've seen some of what you can do, from when you were with Kali," She says, without a trace of the mirth she'd just been displaying. "If Four and Five came after you, there's a _zero_ percent chance of defeating them. You might have a chance, _a chance_ , against Nine and Ten, but that's still a long shot."

El's tough exterior crumbles as Liz speaks, or at least that's what it feels like to El. The new girl just speaks with such utter _certainty_. El's doubt must start to show, because Liz picks up on it.

"They train their hunter teams to be perfect. They give a location and a target, and the hunters track whoever it is down and bring them in," Liz continues. "Only the target matters, anyone else is just collateral damage. As of about five years ago, their success rate was one hundred percent."

"They won't find me here," El responds, trying to grasp some of the certainty she'd held just moments before. It's been almost a year and a half now, there's no way the lab could find her in the cabin.

Liz almost starts to laugh again when she says that.

"They never lost you, Jane, they never lost any of us," She reveals, eviscerating the last few shreds of confidence El had managed to gather. "They invested a lot in us, they wouldn't want us to just disappear without a trace. There's a chip in your neck, and in mine, that they can find with a satellite signal. They may not be able to pinpoint you to this cabin, but they know you're in Hawkins, and if they send someone after you it's only a matter of time."

"You're lying," El says, but it sounds more like she's trying to convince herself, her hand moving to the back of her neck. "That's not possible."

"We're a military applications project, Jane," Liz says with a sad half chuckle. "They dumped whatever money and technology they needed into us, and that includes the prototypes for tracking chips. The only reason they can't track us down to a few feet is that they don't have nearly enough satellites."

"No, that's not true," El replies quietly, scrunching her eyes closed as her fingers curl into a fist. "You're lying."

"I wish I was, Jane, I really do," Liz tells her, uncrossing her arms. "But since you don't want to believe me, I guess I'll just have to _show_ you."

With that she darts forward, faster than El can compose herself and react to in time, and puts a hand on each of El's temples. El's mouth opens to cry out, but no sound comes out as all of her strength rushes out of her. Her knees buckle beneath her and she tumbles to the ground, ears ringing and vision blurred to the extreme, a massive headache exploding through her brain.

At about the same instant, the door to the cabin flies off its hinges when Hopper slams into it as hard as he possibly can, sending it crashing to the ground along with part of the broken door frame. He takes a single moment to observe the situation before levelling his rifle at Liz.

"Hands above your head!" He orders, finger hovering near the trigger. "Don't make any sudden moves!"

For her part, Liz whips around, her eyes flashing quickly to panic, but then settling on something else just as quickly. Hopper only glimpses it for a moment, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine, before she vanishes from sight.

Hopper's eyes dart around the room, blinking several times, but Liz is nowhere to be found.

As soon as he makes that conclusion, something drives into his solar plexus hard enough to make him double over. The rifle is ripped from his grasp and flung across the room, and then his now free hands fly between his legs as something smashes into his nether region. Liz reappears in front of him, her hands on either side of his head, and then he collapses to the ground, completely unconscious.

Liz scrunches her eyes shut for a second, blood starting to drip down from her nose. She looks between Hopper's unconscious form and El's semiconscious form, sighing to herself.

"Sorry about that, kind of a fight or flight thing," She murmurs a little guiltily.

If she was planning to add anything else to the statement, it dies in her throat when she hears the footsteps pounding up the front steps and across the porch. Her eyes dart to the door, where Mike is just appearing with his friends at his heels, focus going straight to the gun in his hands as he shakily raises it to her.

Liz disappears again, just like with Hopper, except this time the gun's owner isn't nearly as experienced. Mike tenses when she vanishes, and a bullet tears through the space a person had just been in.

"Where'd she go?" Mike asks frantically, trying to figure out what just happened.

"Right!" Will exclaims, his eyes wide as he follows something.

Mike turns to the right, the gun moving with him, but hesitates to fire again, his body freezing. That hesitation is long enough for something to slam into Mike's stomach, making him double over just like Hopper, except with a struggle for air. Will lets out a strangled cry as something similar strikes him, followed by a vicious attack between his legs. Moments later both boys look utterly exhausted, and their eyes roll back in their heads just before they collapse to the ground.

Liz comes back into view, stumbling back a bit with considerably more blood coming from her nose. Her hands go up to her temples to massage them, her eyes scrunched tight as if in pain.

Still on the other side of the door, the remaining three party members stare at Liz with wide eyes, at least until Max makes a mad grab for the gun on the ground. Before she can even wrap her fingers around it, she freezes in place.

"Stop," El groans, pushing herself up into an almost sitting position. Blood starts to drip from her nose despite the relatively simple task. "She's a friend."

"I beg to differ," Dustin responds, gesturing to the three unconscious people on the floor. "This doesn't seem very friendly."

"She's like me," El tells him, forcing her way into a full sitting position with obvious strain. "It happens with one of her powers."

The girl in question finally opens her eyes again, shooting a mildly apologetic look at El before going to help the girl up. Max almost falls over when the freeze on her body disappears, snatching the gun from next to Mike's limp hand.

"I won't blame you for wanting it," Liz starts, not turning around as she gets El to her feet. "But if you start pointing that thing at me, you'll probably end up just like your friends on the ground."

"Again, that doesn't seem very friendly," Dustin comments.

"Not all of us grew up with cupcakes and kitties, Henderson," Liz retorts, shooting a cold glare over her shoulder. For once in his life, Dustin decides the best course of action is to keep his mouth firmly closed.

Once she gets El onto the couch, Liz turns to the three party members still standing, glancing down at their friends on the ground.

"Think you can manage getting them on the couch or something while I go get the ammonia?" She questions, thoroughly unsurprised by the silence she receives.

With continuous wary glances at Liz digging through the cupboard under the sink, the three friends manage to get Mike and Will onto the couch, and Hopper into a chair that they drag over to him so they don't need to move him far. Mike and Will lean against each other in a way that they would normally find hilarious outside of the current situation, though El gets a nice giggle out of it. She tucks a strand of Mike's hair behind his ear, as if this could be any other Saturday night.

Liz returns with a half full bottle of ammonia and some cotton balls, the blood cleaned from her face as well. She splashes some ammonia on the cotton and then holds it under Hopper's nose for several seconds, until he starts to stir, repeating the process with Mike and Will.

Hopper groans, a hand going up to his face to rub his eyes. The boys also groan, their eyes only opening a crack, at least until they see what position they're in. They fly apart faster than the bullet Mike had let fly, both turning red and refusing to look at each other. El giggles again, and their friends manage to crack a few smirks, filing this moment away for later teasing.

"What happened?" Hopper asks with a pained groan, the hand rubbing his eyes going to hold the side of his head.

"That would be me, Chief Grumpy Guy," Liz responds with a mischievous smile.

Hopper's attention snaps over to where Liz is standing, his free hand going for the shotgun over his shoulder. His body freezes before his fingers even brush the metal, and his eyes go back to El.

"She's a friend," El repeats. "She isn't here to fight."

"Tell that to my stomach," Mike groans, his embarrassment finally giving way to all the aches of his body.

"At least you might still get to have kids someday," Will murmurs, almost doubling over again. "Tell my mom I'm sorry, no grandkids from me."

"I didn't hit you _that_ hard," Liz says defensively, to which El shoots her a pointed look. Liz rolls her eyes, but finally gives in with a huff. "Still, I'm sorry I kicked you in the nuts. Do you want me to kiss it better?"

Max, Dustin, and Lucas can't help the burst of laughter that escapes them when Will turns as red as a tomato, giving Mike's impressions a run for their money. For her part, El shoots Liz another look, but the corners of her mouth twitch, threatening to turn into a giggle. Mike awkwardly pats his friend on the back, until Hopper loudly clears his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Whenever you're ready to start," He says bluntly, now free to move and fix Liz with a hard stare.

"Whatever you say Chief-o, but where to begin? There's so many interesting things to talk about," Liz responds with another grin. "Well, it all started with this thing called the Big Bang. The universe was in a hot, dense state-"

"Cut the crap," Hopper interrupts with a growl. "The only reason I'm not shooting you right now is _her_." He gestures pointedly at El. "So you better have a good reason for being here."

Liz's grin turns serious, and the temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. Without the big grin her presence is mildly terrifying.

"I came to bring Jane somewhere safe," She answers curtly. "If she stays here it's only a matter of time until they send one of their hunter teams to bring her back, and if that happens the rest of you are just collateral."

Of all possible answers Hopper had been expecting, that definitely wasn't one of them. His glare turns to a dumbfounded look, as if he can't quite believe the words that came out of her mouth.

"I'm not leaving," El cuts in, drawing their attention. "This is my home."

She twines her fingers through Mike's without even looking, trying to show Liz that fact, that nothing is going to make her leave. The older girl just sighs.

"I was really hoping I would have convinced you by now," She says heavily. "I showed you everything, but you still won't leave?"

El shakes her head, having already said all she needs. Liz sighs again.

"Then you leave me no choice," Liz continues, the entire room silent except for the forest sounds coming through the broken door. Everyone tenses, in varying degrees of pain and turmoil, waiting with baited breath.

Liz reaches into her jacket slowly, and then, quick as a flash, she pulls out an old single shot pistol. Her aim is straight at El, and with a bang she pulls the trigger.

Mike dives off the couch in front of her, panic etched onto his face, and he crashes heavily onto the floor of the cabin. Hopper's shotgun is trained on her in the next moment, until she flies back against the wall.

Then she starts to laugh.

Mike groans from the floor, pushing himself up onto all fours. El rushes to his side, checking for bullet wounds, and Hopper almost knocks his chair over as he advances toward Liz. For her part, Liz only waves the gun in front of his face, a little white flag having shot out of it with the word 'bang' printed on it.

"That one was for you, Hop," She says with that devilish glint of mischief in her eyes again. "Now you know, little Mikey's ready to take a bullet for her."

The gun disappears a moment later, a bead of blood running from Liz's nose.

"Get out of my house," He growls, not lowering his shotgun.

"Great idea, Chief-o, we can't possibly stay here anymore," Liz responds, gesturing past him to the broken down door. "You've made it quite drafty in here, and it's a little chilly tonight."

Hopper doesn't say anything, adjusting his grip on his shotgun.

"Stop," El interjects, appearing to step between them, Mike only a few feet behind her. "No more fighting, she's staying."

 _That_ gets Hopper's attention like nothing before. His grip on his gun goes slack and his angry growling expression becomes incredulous and dumbfounded, like his adopted daughter has suddenly grown a second head.

"I'm glad you agree," Liz replies with another grin. "There's no way I'm leaving you here on your own, the three of us need to stick together."

El's serious look falters when Liz says 'three'. Her math skills may not be the best, but three is definitely more than two.

"Oh, right, you guys don't know," Liz says with a chuckle of realization. "Of course, he doesn't know either, so it's perfectly understandable." With that she moves past El to the couch. "Little Willy over here is psychic too."

Everything goes silent, like the entire world is holding its breath and waiting for Liz to start laughing again. She doesn't.

"Here, I'll prove it to you non-believers," She continues, holding up her right hand with three fingers raised. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Will just stares at her with a mix of confusion and terror, until she gives him a nudge with her foot.

"Th-three," He stutters out nervously, his eyes nervously flicking over to his friends for support.

"And how about now?" Liz asks, lowering two fingers.

"Three," Will responds quietly, to the confusion of all of his friends.

They all look back at her hand, and once Liz is sure they're all double checking, she reveals her true plan. The fingers she'd put down are back where they had been originally, but none of them saw them move.

"One of my abilities is to convince your minds that you see something that isn't really there," She explains, wiping the small bit of blood from her nose. "Admittedly, Kali is much better at it than I am, but the little things are easy enough. I normally use it to make myself disappear." She gestures to Will in front of her. "As for Willy, there are two possibilities. Either he has a full-on psychic shield, which is incredibly rare and so pretty unlikely, or he has what you would call true sight, which is technically rarer. Two people have a confirmed psychic shield, but only one has confirmed true sight."

Her words are met with stunned silence from the room, for a while at least.

"I'm psychic...?" Will murmurs, looking down at his hands.

"You are indeed, but don't start questioning how you never noticed before," Liz replies, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "Your abilities are acquired, not naturally developed, so don't go thinking you can flip vans or anything." She sends a pointed look over her shoulder at El when she mentions the van, which the other girl seems determined not to acknowledge.

"How does one acquire psychic powers?" Dustin questions. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Hypothetically, you'd have to be either incredibly lucky, or incredibly unlucky," Liz answers sarcastically. "Either someone with psychic powers has to be _incredibly_ invested in focusing a fucking _ton_ of psychic energy on you for a long fucking time, or you could spend some time in an alternate dimension and get possessed by the center of a collective consciousness."

Dustin shrinks back in his seat at her answer, throwing an apologetic look Will's way. Maybe there's a reason the heroes in the comic books always have some kind of tragic backstory.

"And as for whether he has true sight or a psychic shield, it's the true sight," Liz confirms confidently, removing her hand from Will's shoulder. "And to answer your question, no, I was not hitting on you, but you are kind of cute, even if you do have a bowl cut. If you ever want help finding someone, though, I will _totally_ play matchmaker."

Will's eyes go wider, if that's even possible.

"You read my _mind_?!" He exclaims, equally scared and affronted.

Dustin's hands fly to his own head, and even Lucas and Max tentatively touch their temples in concern. Liz rolls her eyes at their antics.

"Yes, I read your mind," She affirms, crossing her arms over her chest. "No, I can't read your minds right now, I have to make physical contact with someone to do that. My prime is when I resonate with someone and see all of their memories."

That just seems to make everyone more confused, so Liz turns to Hopper.

"Why don't you call Joyce?" She suggests. "We can all go to her house, and I can give everyone a crash course in how psychic powers work."

Hopper just blinks at her a few times, still loosely holding his shotgun. Not even El, her greatest supporter and only knowingly fellow psychic, seems to understand what she just said.

Liz loudly claps her hands a few times to startle everyone out of their confused stupors, finally spurring Hopper into action. He and El exchange a look, and when he gets a nod in support of Liz's plan, he walks slowly to the phone, keeping a careful eye on Liz the whole time.

So much for the full night of sleep Hopper wanted to have that night.

* * *

So, what did you guys think?

I've been waiting to introduce Six/Liz for a while now, and I love writing her. If anyone is confused about the way she behaves, I'll be expanding more in the next chapters, so don't write her off right away. There are some big revelations coming, so brace yourselves, and I'll be putting some more plot elements into the rest of these upcoming chapters on the list, so look forward to those.

I don't normally ask for reviews, but I'm curious what everyone is thinking of what I'm doing. Shoot me a PM if you don't want to leave a public review, I just want to know what you guys think of the development so far.

By the way, HAPPY SPRING! Now, if only the seasons could make up their mind like the calendar.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1 & 2

In Progress- mystery surprise part 3

To Do- summer break(start), 4th of July, something for end of summer, and the start of school

Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7: Six

Salutations, purveyors of the interconnected nets!

Well, here's part two, as promised. This is more of an explanatory chapter than others have been, particularly in regard to psychic powers. I've also added quite a few bits of juicy drama, and something you'll all probably hate me for after you read it(I'm sure you'll know where I'm going with it before then). As the chapter title states, there are seven things we're going to learn/find out in this chapter, from Six(Liz) or as a direct result of her, see if you catch what they are. Be careful, though, some things fit a broad category, some are more specific.

Now behold! Several thousand words fueled by ungodly levels of caffeine, intense self-hatred, depression, and an unhealthy love for anything and everything related to Stranger Things!

Wow, now that I write that out, I seem like a really weird person... Oh well, being normal is boring.

My internal monologue aside, here is the chapter...

* * *

Needless to say, Joyce has never been more stressed in her life than when her son disappeared, and everything that snowballed after the fact. Her top ten list starts with her son being trapped in another dimension and subsequently being possessed by the Mind Flayer, though admittedly it kind of drops off a little after that to normal people problems.

Then she got a call from Hopper at ten o'clock on a Saturday night, around when Will was supposed to be home from visiting El for the weekend. Her immediate thought was that something bad had happened to her son, again. When Hopper had told her that she needed to come to the cabin _right away_ , and to bring Jonathan and his car as well, she'd assumed the worst, but still gone along with it.

What she got upon her arrival wasn't her son mortally wounded, or afflicted by some extradimensional abnormality, it was a girl. As she takes in the sight in the cabin, her flaming panic turns to confusion, all eyes in the room turning to look at her in the doorway. For some reason the entire door is knocked in, and the front window is shattered with an old tarp duct taped over it

"I think you beat my record," Hopper comments dryly when he sees her, walking over to greet her. "So glad you could come join in the insanity, again."

His tone is one that she knows well. He's about as unhappy about whatever's happening right now as he's been about anything, ever, but there's nothing he can do to change it, so he just has to suck it up and pretend everything is fine. Incidentally, that means that everything must be about as far from _fine_ as it can be without a full scale interdimensional invasion.

Jonathan and Nancy appear behind her, finally catching up from the run through the forest in dim moonlight, panting from the panicked exertion. Both soon have the same confused concern on their faces that Joyce has, taking stock of the room. Nancy has an old hunting rifle in her hands, likely the same one from the Byers' shed.

"Great, you're finally here," Liz says, getting up from her seat against the wall, exuding a confusing cheer despite the palpable tension in the cabin. "We're going back to your house, lots to explain, not a fan of drafts, you understand." She strides over to the door with a smile on her face, getting wary looks from the three newcomers as she stops in front of Joyce

The kids also get up, El slinging a small bag over her shoulder and locking hands with her boyfriend. With the entire party waiting, the three are left with no other option than to let them pass by, trying to make some sense of what they're seeing in front of them. Mike, Will, and El hang toward the back where Jonathan and Nancy wait for them.

"What's going on?" Nancy asks as soon as they're next to each other, stealing her younger brother from his girlfriend long enough to hug him. Jonathan and Will share a similar hug on the other side of El.

"It's complicated," Mike answers with a sigh. "But the short version is that another person who escaped the lab, someone like El, showed up tonight. She's going to give us an actual explanation when we're all at the Byers' house."

Nancy definitely wants to ask more questions, but thinks better of it when she sees the tired circles forming under her brother's eyes, and the exhaustion reflected in the eyes themselves. They walk in silence, listening as Dustin pesters Liz with questions, getting only vague answers back.

Hopper and Joyce bring up the rear, Hopper doing his best to fit the door into place in the frame and tie some rope between it and a post on the porch so it won't blow over in the wind. He has his rifle and shotgun in hand again, ready to go back in the Blazer, or ready to use if he needs to.

The ten of them pile into three cars for the drive back, Hopper adamantly insisting on having the world's most uncomfortable drive with Liz as his passenger. Nobody talks all that much, not even when Dustin and Lucas have to sit next to each other.

To their surprise, though the term doesn't mean so much anymore, Steve is waiting for them on the porch when they get to the Byers', his bat sitting next to him just in case.

"Did you guys call Steve?" Dustin asks when they see him.

"You guys made it sound like someone was dying, it seemed like a good idea for Steve to get ready for anything," Jonathan answers, more than a little awkwardly.

Dustin doesn't comment further, being the first one out of the car once it comes to a full stop. Lucas is slower to follow him, waiting for Max once he gets out.

"What's the big emergency?" Steve calls as they start to pile out of the three cars, using his bat to push himself to his feet.

"That would be me!" Liz shouts back proudly, practically leaping out of the truck. "Apparently I'm concerning, or maybe it was threatening, but either way I'm the big emergency."

Steve seems a bit taken aback by the answer, he gaze shifting from the blonde girl walking toward him to the people behind her that he actually knows.

"Unfortunately she's not kidding," Hopper tells the young man, still carrying his rifle with his shotgun over his shoulder. "But apparently, she's going to explain everything inside."

Steve whistles lowly, choosing not to question or comment further as Jonathan unlocks the door for them to all get inside. Hopper draws all the blinds closed and locks the door behind them, standing by it with his rifle. Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy take the couch for themselves. Will, Mike, and El sit against the wall opposite the dining room. Max, Lucas, and Dustin sit on the wall opposite them, Steve standing beside them with his bat in hand.

Liz sits on the same side of the room as the tv, though she sits closer to El than anybody else, making herself comfortable where everyone can see her.

"Settle in people, lots to talk about," She announces, cracking her knuckles as she stretches her arms out in front of her. "If anyone needs to use the bathroom, I suggest you do it now, I won't be stopping for your weak bladders."

When she receives silence as a response she sighs.

"Let's run through the list, just for shits and giggles," She starts, looking up at the ceiling to think. "I need to cover who I am and why I'm here. I promised an explanation of psychic powers, so add that to the list. It would probably benefit to explain some more about the lab and how they work, so I'll put that in too. Where to start, though? It's just all so tempting..."

Again, she receives silence as an answer, which probably isn't helpful.

"I'll start with my introduction, then, you bunch of mutes," She says with a huff. "My name is Elizabeth, Liz for short, and I'm number six from the lab." With that she slides up her sleeve to reveal her tattoo. "Beyond that I'm a lot more complicated, but more on that later. As for what I'm doing here, my original plan was to get Jane to leave and go somewhere safe. Since she's refusing to do that, despite how much danger it puts everyone in, my new plan is that I have to stay here and make sure she doesn't get herself killed by the hunter teams."

"I'm sorry, but did you just say _hunter_ teams?" Nancy interrupts, her eyes wide in concern, her knuckles turning white around the old rifle in her hands.

"I did, believe it or not. Those words really did come out of my mouth. There are two teams that I know of, as of five years ago when I escaped," Liz responds calmly, if with her own sarcastic shine. "Four and Five are both monsters, in combat and interrogation respectively. Nine and Ten are a little easier to deal with if they come after you, but that isn't saying much, especially if you have people around you." She pauses for a slight laugh, though her hands curl into fists. "They're teams of attack dogs, and they don't give up. Their only focus is their targets, and they'll get rid of whoever gets in their way."

A nervous cloud descends on the room, terrifying images worming their way through everyone's minds. They've seen what El can do with her powers, and all of that was to _help_ them.

"It's only a matter of time until they send a team here, now that there are two of us in one place. Three if you count him," She continues, gesturing to Will with a tilt of her head. Joyce's eyes widen, but she doesn't get the chance to interrupt. "They know we're here in Hawkins, even if they don't have a precise location. The team will show up with a bunch of agents, scrub the town from top to bottom, and then we're in deep shit." She lets out another half hearted chuckle. "We can only hope that it's Nine and Ten that come, or else we're all fucked to hell."

"What makes them so much better?" Hopper questions, managing to separate his pursed lips long enough to ask. Liz actually laughs this time.

"Both teams have one combat asset and one mental asset, that's how they get structured by whatever shitheads are in charge at the DoE," She explains, fixing a gaze to match her grin on the surly chief. "When it comes to the combat potential, it's between Four and Ten. In terms of raw power, it tips toward Four, but in terms of precision it tends to tip toward Ten. When it comes to mental assets Nine is definitely more versatile than Five, though Five can still be scarily effective."

"Then wouldn't Nine and Ten be worse to deal with?" Lucas asks, trying to piece her information into a full comparison. "If they've got precision _and_ power..."

"You'd think that, but there's one thing I haven't mentioned yet," Liz replies, her laugh turning a little nervous. "Four and Five both have a psychic shield, which makes them infinitely more terrifying to those of us who escaped. Powers like mine won't affect either of them at all, because I have to make contact with and exert influence over another mind. Their shield prevents anyone else from establishing that contact, so if I have to face them I'm fucked." For the first time that night, her air of comedic confidence gives way to real fear, though she does her best to push it back down.

"But El has telekinesis, that doesn't seem like it would be affected, and she's really strong," Dustin interjects, but Liz just shakes her head.

"I'll admit, she's stronger with it than I would have ever thought possible, but her telekinesis is nothing compared to Four's or Ten's," She says, which sends a chill down their spines. "As for why, that requires a more in depth explanation of how psychic powers work." Liz takes a moment to crack her neck before continuing, reestablishing her former confidence. "The most basic part of having powers is having a greater degree of psychic energy in the brain than normal people. Our brains have to work differently to contain that much energy, which is how we develop our powers. The way our brain contains and controls the energy determines which powers we're predisposed to developing."

Despite the chill of dread forming inside them, they all try to soak in the information as she says it. El especially hangs on every word.

"The strongest power we develop is where our brain centers most of the energy we have. The researchers call it our Prime, that being our primary power, which is different for all of us," She continues, closing her eyes to recall information. "For me, it's an ability I call resonance. It's how I can see all the memories another person has, or show them my memories. For Jane, I'm pretty sure it's her ability to scry, which is what she does when she finds people in the void." She pauses again for a breath, but holds up a hand to forstall more questions. "It's entirely possible to develop more than one power naturally, like how I can also read minds instead of resonating, but the Prime is generally the one that you use most often. It's the most reliable and the easiest to use."

"But I needed the bath to use my power for years," El points out, to which Liz just smiles with a knowing look.

"The development of you're Prime was stunted for a while because of the training they put you through," She explains, happily divulging the lab's secrets. "They trained you for telekinesis ten times more often than for your scrying, but telekinesis isn't a power that comes to you naturally. You forced your brain to develop that pathway, which is why your telekinesis is so much more difficult for you to use than your other powers, which your brain developed naturally." El seems taken aback by the information, and then her expression turns thoughtful, as if she's trying to feel her brain. "Forcing a pathway isn't easy, which is why it makes that power so much harder to use. For me, I forced my illusion powers to develop after I found out how Kali escaped. That's why I can't do anything on nearly as large a scale, and why I get a nosebleed so much faster when I use it."

"If she didn't have telekinesis naturally, why would they train her for it?" Mike asks tentatively, his hand and El's tightening their grip on each other.

"Because Doctor McDoucheface wanted her to have telekinesis, and refused to believe that she didn't," Liz snaps with a glare at the boy, though it shifts to the wall pretty quickly. "It took a long time to make it happen, and he had no problems with showing his displeasure."

Mike swallows hard under her glare, short though it may be, switching his gaze to his girlfriend and whispering something in her ear. She smiles a little and squeezes his hand again, though the memories that come up keep a slight grimace on her face despite that.

"If my telekinesis isn't natural, does that mean I have other powers I don't know about?" El questions after a few moments, schooling her features back to neutral. "How does that work?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Liz exclaims, her previous excitement returning. "After I looked at your memories, a few things stood out to me, but I'm going to need a radio. Someone get me a radio!"

Everyone hesitates to move, until El finally reaches over to Mike's backpack and takes out his supercom. He gives her a look, but doesn't protest as she turns it on. Liz closes her eyes as the static starts up.

 _"This ability is called telepathy,"_ Her voice says, crackling out of the speaker. _"It lets you transmit thoughts along radio waves."_

"That's not what telepathy is supposed to be, though," Dustin complains, to which Liz's eyes snap open in yet another glare.

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me just change the names they gave to all of our powers," She retorts sarcastically. "I didn't know that there was a standard already set up."

Dustin turns red and stares at his feet in defeat. His normally silver-tongue is tied up in knots today for some reason.

 _"Think of telepathy as the opposite of scrying,"_ Liz explains, picking up where she left off. "With your scrying, you can see anyone in any place, and you know what they're saying or doing. _With telepathy, you become the sender instead of the receiver, as long as you have a radio to transmit through._ So long as you have one at both ends, you can theoretically go over any distance."

She cracks a smile as she watches them keep looking back and forth between her and the supercom.

"Are you saying that El can do stuff like that?" Mike inquires hesitantly, not wanting to provoke Liz's wrath once more.

"I do believe I said those words, about five seconds ago. I think you and your sister should get your ears checked," Liz answers, though not fully snapping at him this time. "As for Jane and her other powers, she's done it more than once. Granted, she didn't do it with her own thoughts, she transmitted what somebody was saying at the same time, but same concept."

"That time we heard Will on the supercom!" Lucas exclaims, his eyes going wide. Dustin and Mike make the connection, their eyes going just as wide.

"El, that's amazing!" Mike says excitedly, pulling El into a hug. She doesn't seem quite as enthusiastic about the information, but she still smiles.

"Since I'll be sticking around for a while, I can help you practice with that one," Liz offers once Mike lets her go. _"I do kind of know what I'm doing."_

El opens her mouth to respond, but Hopper loudly clears his throat to get their attention. As per usual, he doesn't seem happy.

"You keep saying that you're going to stay, but how exactly do you plan to do that?" He questions shortly. "I don't remember offering you a place to stay, and I know for a fact that nobody else has, so what's your plan there?"

El shoots him a glare from across the room, but Liz just laughs.

"Don't worry your pretty, balding, little head, Hop," She replies, much to Hopper's ire. "There's no way I'm staying with any of you, I don't trust people that easily."

"Yet you seem fine inviting yourself into our lives?" Hopper retorts, far past the end of his extremely limited well of patience.

"I'm inviting myself into _her_ life, the rest of you are baggage," Liz shoots back, gesturing pointedly at El. "Last time I tried to do the whole 'family' thing, it didn't turn out well." She puts air quotes around the word family, and practically spits the word out like it leaves a bad taste in her mouth. "Believe it or not, I thought I could finally be happy after they took me in. Three months later, just when everything was starting to seem normal, they called the lab for the reward money..."

The room falls silent after her revelation, even Hopper's previous irritation fading into some small measure of understanding.

"Don't all start talking at once," Liz grumbles, annoyed with herself for letting that out. "I don't need your sympathy, and I want it even less, so keep it to yourselves." With that she looks pointedly around the room, her gaze finally resting on Steve. "Pretty boy, you're dad's a real estate guy, right? Find me somewhere to live."

Steve seems equally confused and taken aback by the sudden order, but given his history of being thrown into these situations, his composure comes back quickly.

"What's your budget?" He responds with a defeated sigh, reluctantly accepting that this is his life now. Third time's the charm, though, right?

"Whatever I can pickpocket from people," Liz answers bluntly. "On a good day I can normally pull a hundred, depending on where I work."

"Something cheap, got it," He mutters to himself, and then sighs again. "I'm probably going to regret this, but I know a place. Rent's cheap because the place is still a craphole. If you help me do the renovations, I won't raise it after."

"You're looking at the girl who resonated with all kinds of contractors," Liz tells him with a proud grin. "Carpentry, masonry, plumbing, electric, you name it, I can do it to a reasonable degree of success."

"Wait, Steve, are you a landlord?" Nancy interjects.

"Oh, yeah, I am," Steve responds sheepishly. "College applications didn't go too well for me, so I'm going to try my hand at real estate. My dad handed me the keys to a little apartment building near the edge of town, only three floors, six apartments a floor. If I can handle getting tenants to live there, he'll bring me in to the full business."

"That shouldn't be too hard, you're great with people," Nancy tells him with a small smile. Steve smiles back at her, until Hopper clears his throat again.

"I'm not going to let you pickpocket your way through Hawkins," He says with a glare. "The whole 'Chief of Police' thing isn't just a title, it's my job."

Liz rolls her eyes back at him, and then reaches into her jacket again. Everyone from the cabin tenses when she does, to which she rolls her eyes again. This time she pulls out a worn yellow envelope.

"This is sixteen hundred bucks, how long does that get me?" She asks, tossing the envelope to Steve. He has to drop his bat with a clatter to catch it, but whistles when he sees the money inside.

"Where'd you get this?" He questions back, thumbing through the bills.

"Kali gave it to me when I left," She answers shortly. "They were skipping town anyway, so they could just hit up another convenience store."

"You keep mentioning this Kali person, who are they?" Hopper interjects as Steve starts trying to do mental math, notably not questioning that she mentioned hitting up a convenience store.

"Jane didn't-?" Liz starts, but cuts herself off. "That's right, she never told you."

"Told me what?" Hopper demands, putting great effort into controlling his temper.

"Jane never told you the full story of what happened before she showed up here last fall," Liz explains, sending a look toward the girl in question. El's eyes go wide, but can't seem to find the words to say anything. "After she left her mama's place, she didn't just come here, she went to find her sister, Kali. Took a bus to Chicago, wandered the city until she found Kali and her gang, joined up with them for a day or two. Got some help with her powers, robbed a convenience store, hunted down one of the men that used to work at the lab, almost killed him, and then left in a hail of gunfire when the police caught up with them."

El turns white as a sheet when the room goes silent, all eyes turning to stare at her. Panic starts to rise in her chest, seeing the mix of different looks from everyone around her.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mike murmurs from right beside her, cutting into the growing storm of her panic, and she tries to focus solely on the familiar brown orbs of his eyes. This is _exactly_ why she never told them, because she didn't want to see the looks they're giving her, didn't want them to see her differently because of what she did.

"She was scared, and for good reason," Liz answers for her. "At the time, her only goal was getting to see you bunch of shitheads again, though I personally don't see the appeal. After that, she didn't want to jeopardize getting to see everyone, you especially, Lover Boy. If she'd told you guys _any_ of what I just did, Chief McGrump over there would have kept her inside until she finally decided she wanted to run away, at which point the two of you would probably elope." She gestures vaguely over her shoulder at Hopper, but keeps her gaze fixed on Mike.

Her words are met by greater silence, but Mike does manage to get El to look at him, not just at his eyes, but at _him_. Something unspoken passes between them, but it seems to reassure El. Squeezing Mike's hand for support, she turns to meet Hopper's stony gaze.

"Are you mad?" She asks quietly, her small stature quite evident as she tries to shrink in her seat against the wall. Hopper's gaze holds for several more long seconds, until he finally sighs and shakes his head.

"I'm not mad, just disappointed," He responds. "We don't keep secrets, that's one of our rules. This is something you should have _told_ me."

Liz actually bursts out laughing, drawing all attention back to herself.

"That's actually rich, Hop, coming from you!" She exclaims, laughing all the while. "As if you haven't been keeping a _much_ bigger secret from her, for a _lot_ longer."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Saturday, November 12th, 1983," Liz interrupts before Hopper can finish his retort, her laughter cutting off abruptly, turning into a stone cold stare. The room seems to chill with her loss of mirth, though the occupants perk up at the date, unfortunately seared into their memories. "You and Joyce left the kids at the middle school to get Will out of the Upside Down. You got caught, and they interrogated you. They were going to kill you, until you offered them your deal. Ringing any bells yet?"

"What's she talking about, Hop?" Joyce asks from the couch, trying to get his attention, but Hopper's entire being seems focused on glaring at Liz. She'd been there that night, she'd gone into the Upside Down, and Hopper had explained the deal to her. So long as they never talk about what happened, or how it connects to the lab, nothing bad happens to them.

"That's enou-" Hopper starts, trying and failing to take back control of the room.

"You told them where to find Eleven that night," Liz retorts, cutting him off once again, getting a collective muted gasp. "They gave you hazmat suits, oxygen tanks, and even that fancy rifle you're carrying around right now. They weren't free though, were they? You had to tell them where they could find, how did you put it...?" She pauses for a breath, Hopper both pale and angry as he glares, forcing himself to wait for the inevitable instead of punch this girl in the face. "Oh, that's right, where they could find 'their little science experiment', wasn't it?"

Another silence falls over the room, but this one is different than the last few. This one is cold, somehow draining, as if something unseen had just disappeared. For a while, nobody speaks, nobody even dares to breathe too loudly.

"I did what I had to do to save Will," Hopper says lowly, which confirms Liz's story as true. "If I didn't he would have died in the Upside Down." He dares to look around the room, unsure of what he's expecting. What he finds is varying levels of hurt and confusion written over all of their faces, more so on one than any other. "And I have tried to make up for it _every day_ since then."

He forces himself to look over at El, his gut wrenching and his heart shattering when he sees the look of pure betrayal on her face. Tears are already welling up in her eyes, and the little brown orbs that normally look at him with trust, even affection, are filled with pain.

"El, I-"

His words are cut off when a pressure descends on the room, El's tears spilling over when she scrunches her eyes tight. When they open again they're filled with anger, with an unbridled rage directed at the _second_ person who she'd trusted like a father. The second person to build it on a lie.

"Because you felt guilty?" She asks quietly, though her voice still wavers. She gets unsteadily to her feet, nobody able to move to try to stop her, dropping Mike's hand as she moves. "That's all it was? Not to help me?! Not so I could finally have-!" She cuts herself off when her voice starts to rise, the tears threatening to overwhelm her. When she speaks again, her voice is low and wavering. "So I could finally have a family...?"

She manages to hold her glare a little longer, until pain contorts her face, and she flings the door open with her mind, running out without a second look. When she does, the pressure on the room disappears, and everyone starts gasping for air.

Mike is the first to move, scrambling to his feet and rushing after El, calling her name into the brisk night air. Joyce crosses the room to Hopper when he falls to his knees, leaning on the butt of his rifle, tears streaming down his face.

"We'll figure it out, Hop, everything will be okay," She tells him, trying to be comforting, but she can't even seem to convince herself. She even looks conflicted over just who she should be consoling at this moment in time.

"You should probably start with an apology," Liz suggests, still leaning nonchalantly against the wall in exactly the same spot as before.

Hopper's only response is to growl, starting to get up and adjust his grip on his rifle. Liz moves in a flash, with the ease of practice, reaching into her jacket and pulling a knife out, the blade flicking out against Hopper's neck, making him freeze halfway between kneeling and standing. Joyce steps back in fright when she sees the knife, and Steve's eye flick down to his fallen bat.

"Try it, I dare you," She says coldly, the normal mirth in her tone and her eyes vanishing in an instant. "This one isn't an illusion."

For a few seconds, Hopper is strongly tempted to try, regardless of the cold steel against his neck, but ultimately he lets his rifle sink back to the ground. The knife moves away a few moments after that, and Liz backs away.

"The whole 'big threatening cop' routine might work for your day job, but it means nothing to me," She tells him flatly. "I have the memories of dozens of killers in my head, anyone from assassins, to terrorists, to your plain old psychopaths. I know every possible way to kill you, and I've had the practice of those dozens of lifetimes. I know every way you might come at me, because now I have your memories too. If you come at me, if you so much as threaten me ever again, I will end you."

She says it without a single shred of emotion, the way a person might discuss the weather to pass the time. A shiver runs down everyone's spines, each of them terrified of the girl in front of them. While none of them say anything out loud, they all silently pray that Liz really is on their side.

XxX

"El!" Mike yells for the umpteeth time. He'd lost sight of her as soon as she made it to the treeline, but that hadn't stopped him from running after her. It also hadn't stopped him from getting lost in the woods, but that's a different problem.

Despite the fact that he doesn't know _where_ he is, he knows that El is somewhere nearby. He doesn't know how he knows that, but he knows. He also knows that El isn't in a good place right now, and that letting her be alone is a bad idea. From experience, he knows just what kind of thoughts can run through someone's head when they're in a bad place. Above all, he knows that he _needs_ to find her, to keep her safe, before something bad happens.

It's not until he sees the flag waving a few yards away that he realizes where they are. Despite never having actually visited it in real life, El had found her way to Castle Byers, at least if the sounds of crying coming from inside it are anything to go by. For Mike, that's all he needs.

"El," He says more quietly, tapping on the branches that make up the wall of the fort. The crying stops abruptly.

"Go away," El replies after a few long moments, her voice still choked up.

"I'm not going away, El, I promised you that. I'm never going to leave you again," He responds, wishing he could just go in, but knowing that forcing help on her isn't a good idea. "It doesn't need to be now, but when you're ready, I'll be right here. I'm not leaving without you, and that's a promise."

Despite his words, a familiar train of thought runs through his mind. He does his best to fight it back down, but it's still there, still looming in the recesses of his mind. After what they just found out, El needs him to be strong, not... like that.

Mike doesn't keep track of how long he sits outside the fort, silently wishing he'd decided to bring a jacket with him. El is still wearing the sweatshirt he'd brought with him for the day, but asking for it back is out of the question on every level.

"Mike...?" El finally murmurs, her voice hoarse. "Can you...come in?"

A grin splits his face for an instant before he schools his features back down, slowly pushing the towel covering the doorway aside to go in. The inside is much warmer than outside, and the wind can't get through the tarp. Without a word he sits down next to El on top of the old quilt, wrapping an arm around her when she leans her head against him. A single beam of moonlight makes its way through the canopy of trees to shine into Castle Byers, illuminating the inside pretty well.

"Sorry," She whispers into his shirt, trying to hide her red and puffy eyes.

"What could you possibly be sorry for, El?" Mike asks, having expected quite a few things, but not _that_. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Friends don't lie," She answers glumly. "And they don't keep secrets. I kept a big secret from you."

Mike actually grimaces a little when she says that.

"It's okay to keep some secrets, El," He tells her. "There are some things you just don't want anyone else to know about, and that's okay. Everyone keeps some secrets, it's normal."

"But I don't _want_ to keep secrets," El insists, looking up at him tears threatening to spill again. "Especially from you, Mike. It doesn't feel good to keep secrets from you, I don't like it."

Mike grimaces again.

"I know what you mean," He murmurs, holding her a little tighter.

They sit in silence for a little while, listening to the sounds of the forest, and to each other's breathing. For those few precious minutes, everything is peaceful.

"How could he...?" El asks, breaking the silence.

"I don't know," Mike answers honestly, still unable to wrap his brain around it. He _should_ feel angry, especially considering what happened in that year without El, but he just feels confused.

Every interaction with Hopper had shown him as nothing but a caring father for El, even if she isn't his blood. The way he insists on her bedtime, how he wants her to use more of her vocabulary when she speaks, and how he gets so protective of her all the time. Why would he do all of that just to ease a guilty conscience?

"I don't want to go back," She tells him, bringing him back from his thoughts. "To the cabin, I don't want to go back. Not with him."

"I'm sure Mrs. Byers will let you stay," He assures her, gently rubbing her arm. "If not, then you can come stay at my house. Even if I have to hide you from my parents again, I'll do it."

El manages a little smile, snuggling a little closer against Mike's side.

"No secrets...," She murmurs. "No more secrets between us, okay?"

She gingerly holds her pinky out to him, the symbol of their most solemn oath. Mike's pulse starts to race when he sees it, and a familiar itch starts up again.

"El, I..." He starts, not raising his pinky to meet hers. She takes immediate notice of that, shifting away from him slightly so they can look at each other. Despite that, Mike's gaze falls to his feet pretty quickly. "There's something I need to tell you, if we're not going to have any secrets."

He purses his lips, chewing the inside of his cheek as he tries to think of how to phrase this. It's not something anyone talks about everyday, or something they should _need_ to talk about everyday. It's something he never wanted to talk about, with El or anybody else. All he really wants is to leave it in the past, and he's been mostly successful at doing that for months now, but like El said before, it doesn't feel good to keep it from her.

"What is it?" El questions when his silence stretches out.

"It's that...it's really just...it's kind of...," He attempts, groaning in frustration. "Do you know what depression is?"

"De...pression...?" She whispers, trying the word out in her mouth. That answers Mike's question for him, but poses yet another obstacle.

"It's kind of like being sad, except you're _really_ sad, and it lasts for a really long time," He explains, vaguely recalling the definition he'd found in a psychology book in the library. His explanation may not be the most accurate, but it gets the gist. "When you were...gone, I had something like that."

He'd had this conversation in his head a million times, but actually having to say these things out loud makes them seem infinitely worse. Despite the fact that he'd come to terms with it months ago, for the most part, it doesn't get easier to say.

"Sometimes, when you get depressed, you feel like there's nothing worth living for anymore," He says quietly, slowly reaching for his left sleeve. "I felt like that for a while last year." El's eyes are fixed to his arm in terrified anticipation as he pushes the sleeve up. "If it gets really bad, some people try to kill themselves, just so they can't feel it anymore. I tried, once, after the Snowball when you were still gone."

El can't help but gasp a little bit when she sees it, the single blemish on Mike's otherwise smooth skin, an inch or two up from his elbow. Even in the pale moonlight, the white scar across Mike's arm is still visible, thin and straight on one end, wider and slightly curved on the other.

"No more secrets," Mike whispers as El starts to cry. "I promise."

* * *

So, *sips coffee* whatcha think?

Yes, I do believe that it is entirely possible that Mike reached that low of a point after El disappeared, especially around the Snowball. People go a lot lower for a lot less, which I wish I could say I didn't know for a fact. That being said, if you or someone you know has ever engaged in self-harm, or had suicidal thoughts or actions, I urge you to speak with someone you trust. There are plenty of people out there that are willing to help you if you need it, and it really can help to talk about it. If you aren't comfortable reaching out to someone you know, the suicide hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 to help you.

Now, on a bit of a lighter note...

Is it likely in the Stranger Things canon? Probably not. Have I really been sticking close to a plausible canon storyline? Definitely not. Is the entire concept of my story now disproven by the information they've released about season 3? For the most part. Will I be discontinuing this story, or changing anything about my approach in response? Absolutely not. I've invested too many mental resources into developing my plan for this, and I still look forward to writing it whenever I have a spare couple minutes, so I will not be discontinuing Number Games. I can't promise that I can update very frequently, or that my updates will be worth the bytes of data they're coded on, but I enjoy writing this story, and that's enough for me.

Can you name the seven things we learned/found out in this chapter(I count some things in the same broad category, so you'll have to think like I do)? If anyone manages to guess all seven things correctly, I'll let you name a character(probably a high school character once I get there). Good luck, and remember, some are specific and some are broad!

As always, love to hear from you guys. Drop a review, shoot me a PM, make a suggestion, compliment my messed up imagination, insult my fashion sense(I'll probably agree with you), do whatever, all is welcome(within reason, I will not be responding to any declarations of war or undying affection).

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1 & 2

In Progress- mystery surprise part 3

To Do- summer break(start), 4th of July, something for end of summer, and the start of school

Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8: Six Way or the Highway

Welcome back, travelers!

Contrary to popular belief, I am not dead! As for why I've been inactive for so long, I've just been incredibly busy with work and things, so I haven't had lots of time to write. As much as I love writing all of my stories, my personal well being comes first. I'm going to try to update all of my ongoing stories by the end of the month, but I can't make any promises, my workload changes at the drop of a hat. Once I get back into a groove, I'll try to update every 2 weeks or so, but again, no promises being made.

Also, the name of this chapter sucks, yes, but I couldn't come up with another good play on Six at 2 A.M, and I don't want to wait any longer. If you guys can come up with anything better after reading the chapter, let me know, I might change it.

Now, when we last left our heroes, everything was going wrong and everybody was sad. Let's see if that changes in this chapter, or if I'm evil and kept it going.

* * *

Mike doesn't sleep much that night, really not at all. All he can do is cradle El against him after she cries herself into an uneasy sleep. Thoughts keep encroaching on his mind, despite his best efforts to focus solely on El. The scar on his arm keeps itching, though whether that itch is on his skin or in his mind, he has no idea. A permanent reminder of what he did, and what he almost did.

More than once he has to blink away tears, refusing to believe that he deserves to cry any more. What reason does he even _have_ to cry? Because he gets bullied in school? Thousands of kids get bullied, it happens in every school. Because his parents don't understand him? Welcome to being a teenager. Because they might end up getting a divorce pretty soon? Again, thousands of kids have to deal with their parents getting divorced. Because his girlfriend sacrificed herself for him and got lost in a different dimension? She came back, that part is over.

Because he tried to kill himself? All it means is that he was too weak to survive on his own. If he wasn't so goddamn weak _all the time_ , maybe none of this would have happened. He would have protected El from the bad men that night. He would have protected everyone from the Demogorgon, and El never would have disappeared. Then they could have had all that time together, the way they both wanted it to be.

The way they both _needed_ it to be.

Instead, he had to be the scrawny weakling that can't even keep the people he cares about safe. Will has ptsd, El has to deal with _another_ betrayal of her trust, and the others aren't that much better. For all the talk of being the de facto leader because he's the Paladin, Mike Wheeler is an absolutely worthless waste of-

"Mike?" El murmurs, her voice still a little hoarse from so much crying, snapping him out of his dark thoughts as she stirs next to him. Mike sits up, gently helping her do the same.

Neither of them says anything else for a while, everything they might need to say passing between their eyes. It's not until El reaches out a takes his hands that either of them actually moves.

"I want you to explain it to me," She says, not letting him shift his eyes away from hers. "It doesn't have to be now, but when you're ready..."

"Are you using my own lines against me?" He asks, almost cracking a smile.

"Mike..." She implores, squeezing his hands.

Mike sighs, knowing better than to argue with her when she's this determined. They do say that talking about it helps, somehow.

"Like I said, it happened the night of the Snowball, the one when you were still... gone," He starts, his gaze falling down to his hands. "I didn't want to go if it wasn't with you, so I stayed home. The guys decided to go see what it was like, so I was just down in the basement, alone. Nancy was out with Steve, my dad was asleep in his chair like every night, and mom was trying to relax after she put Holly to bed, so nobody was going to notice."

El purses her lips to keep from opening them, despite the plethora of things she wants to do. To cry, to tell Mike everything will be okay, and to kiss him when the words don't come out just so he knows, but she can't, not until he's done.

"I went and got one of the kitchen knives from the drawer, the little paring knife that mom never uses," He continues, his untamed hair hiding his eyes when his head goes down. "I took it into the basement bathroom, over the sink, so mom wouldn't have to clean blood off of everything later."

El's grip tightens when she feels the first drops land on her hands, trying to stave off her own tears for now. Mike needs her to be the strong one this time.

"I remembered something about a vein or artery that would work pretty quickly if you cut the right spot," Mike admits, his voice choked and choppy. "But when I started to cut, it felt like it was burning. That's why it isn't really straight, my hand just kind of twitched, and I dropped it into the sink."

He stops himself for a moment, taking a couple deep breaths to steady himself.

"I'm just a failure," He mutters. "I couldn't even kill myself the right wa-"

 _Smack!_

Mike cuts off in surprise when El slaps him, his hand flying to his cheek, already turning bright red.

"Nobody gets to talk about you like that," She manages to tell him through her own tears. " _Especially_ you."

She jabs a finger into his chest when she says it, but can't keep her resolve up to drive it home. She breaks down into a fresh round of sobs, and Mike pulls her up against him in his lap. El buries her face in his shoulder as they hold each other.

"Sorry, El..." Mike murmurs quietly. "Sometimes it's just..."

He trails off, trying to stave off the next round of tears.

They're both silent for a while. Mike focuses every part of his being on the girl in his arms. The way her hair curls so beautifully on its own, the slight rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathes, even the pressure of her arms around him. For every awful thing that has ever gone through his mind, El is always the point of light to keep him going.

"There's one more thing, so there are no more secrets," He says once they've both managed to quell their tears and sobs. "When we had our fight, it felt the same way, like I lost you again. I was ready to try it again, with the pocketknife my grandpa gave me when I was ten."

El stiffens in his arms, bracing herself for more.

"I was going to try a different way that time, down my arm instead of across," Mike explains softly, still afraid to give the memories a voice. "I was holding it, ready to go. I probably would have gone through with it too, but Holly started knocking on my door. She wanted me to tell her a bedtime story, since apparently mine are more interesting than the books my mom reads."

He manages a half-hearted nervous chuckle after the words leave his mouth.

"The movies always talk about the big moments that turn your life into what it is," He continues. "But they never seem to focus as much on the little ones, even though they can be so much more important. If Holly hadn't wanted a new bedtime story that night, I might not be here today."

El hugs him tighter, trying not to cry any more than she already has. Mike doesn't need her to cry, he needs her to be there for him, be there _with_ him.

"So, that's everything. No more secrets, between us at least," Mike concludes after a little while. "But would you mind keeping this between us? I don't want everyone focusing on me, especially now."

El leans back, their red rimmed brown eyes meeting again. She doesn't seem to like the idea of keeping it a secret from their friends, but for now she'll trust Mike's decision.

"Do we have to leave?" She asks quietly, moving her head back to his shoulder.

"Everyone is probably worried about us," Mike comments. "But we don't have to do anything until we're ready."

"Let's stay," El mumbles into his shoulder, snuggling in closer. "Just a little longer."

XxX

"They're still not back yet?" Nancy asks quietly, trying not to startle Joyce and Jonathan as she enters the kitchen. The weak rays of light from the sunrise fight their way through the window to illuminate the dustmotes, and the tired circles under all of their eyes. Nobody had gotten much sleep last night.

"I'm sure they're fine," Joyce tells her, though she sounds anything but sure. "They're smart, and they're resourceful, so they wouldn't be stupid enough to pass out in the woods all night."

Nancy nods, forcing a small smile onto her face. Right now isn't the time to start making everyone even more stressed with worry.

"Do you want any help making breakfast?" She offers, seeing Jonathan working on some eggs. "I can make a mean piece of toast."

Both of the Byers chuckle a little, and Joyce passes her the bagged loaf of bread.

"I'll get the bacon out, then," The woman says, crossing to the fridge. "Who knows, maybe if we start making eggos El will magically appear?"

Nancy and Jonathan both laugh, though they both consider the idea for a moment before pushing it aside.

"Hey, mom," Jonathan starts, though he doesn't seem sure of his words. "Do you think it was...?"

"Do I think what?" Joyce prompts, letting the fridge door swing shut.

"Do you think it was a good idea to let Hopper leave last night?" He forces out.

Joyce's smile, already strained with worry, drops from her face. All she can really do is sigh, no better answer to offer her eldest son.

"I don't know what's a good or bad idea in all of this anymore," She admits. "It's all just so confusing, especially on top of everything that's already happened."

"I guess I should apologize for that," Liz says, startling everyone in the kitchen. Joyce actually jumps a little, the package of bacon dropping from her hand to the floor with a smack. "Sorry if I startled you, quiet's just a force of habit."

Nobody really knows how to respond to her, to which she gives them a half-grimace, half-smile, looking down at the floor.

"I know I'm not an easy person to be around, and you'd probably prefer that I never showed up in the first place, but I'm not trying to make things difficult," She tells them, her eyes still fixed on her feet. "I don't like secrets, I don't like lies, and I don't like sugar coating. So, when I saw all the secrets, and all the lies, when I saw everyone's memories... I couldn't just let it stay that way, they only get worse the longer they fester."

Still, none of the three can find any words to say to her.

"As for whether you should be concerned about Hopper, he's been through worse," She continues. "It might take a little while before she's willing to talk to him again, but he and Jane will be fine, eventually."

When the silence remains unbroken by anyone else in the room, a saving grace comes in the form of Steve Harrington.

"Are they not back yet?" He asks, rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes.

"Not yet," Liz supplies, reading the still mute expressions of the others.

"Then I guess we should go find them, wouldn't want the little shits to miss breakfast after all of this," He says, stretching and cracking. "Anyone going to come with me, or am I searching solo?"

"I'll come," Liz volunteers before anyone else can even contemplate opening their mouths. She starts toward the door almost immediately, leaving Steve behind. "Are we going or not?"

Steve just rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath, sharing a glance with the rest of the room before following after her.

"What, did you take the scenic route?" She questions once he closes the door behind him.

"What's your rush all of a sudden?" He retorts. "I thought you didn't like people."

"I don't, but unfortunately for me, my continued survival depends on knowing where Jane is at all times," She responds with dripping condescension. "And double unfortunately, Jane depends on Mike."

"I'm sensing some hostility here this morning," Steve comments with a yawn as they start walking. "What happened to the raging sarcasm from last night? And all the energy you had?"

"Well, when you have dozens of people in your head, you might understand," She spits back. "If you want to call it multiple personalities, go ahead, it's close enough. Just keep your sympathy to yourself."

"Multiple personalities, huh? I guess that would explain why you're so different this morning," He says, mulling over the new information a bit as they step into the woods. "So, do your different personalities have names or-"

Before he can even finish his question, the back of his head smacks against a tree, and a knife appears at his throat.

"Oliver Stevens, Gary Thompson, Jared Indura, Keith Waterman, George Buford," She spits at him, though his attention is more focused on the knife. "And dozens more besides, including your little friends. _Those_ are the names of my personalities, every one of them came from a person. Most of them are dead now." A small growl sounds in her throat, but ends when she turns on her heel, putting her knife away. "And as much as I'd prefer otherwise, _they_ are who I am. Most of them were ready to kill without hesitation, which you'd do well to remember."

"Jesus, you might want to try yoga," Steve mutters back at her, rubbing his neck. "Or drinking tea or something, you need to relax. Pulling a knife on everyone who gets you a little riled up isn't good for your health."

"Did you miss everything I just said?" Liz questions, the embers in her eyes lightning up once again.

"I heard you, though I would have paid more attention without the knife and concussion," Steve retorts, switching to rubbing the back of his head. "There is such a thing as _talking_ when you have a problem. It's actually quite simple, one person says things, another person listens, and occasionally also says things."

"Haha, very funny," Liz replies, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's the sarcasm," Steve exclaims, clapping a couple times. Liz goes back to glaring at him in earnest. "See, a little prod in the right direction and we can make some progress."

"How about my knife makes some progress into your throat?" Liz responds, holding her death glare. It almost works too, Steve starts to have doubts about poking the bear, until Liz smirks. "Or maybe I should just give you a haircut?"

"Don't you touch my hair," Steve warns, taking a step back and putting his hands over his hair defensively. "I think we need to actually get to looking for Mike and Jane now."

"Aw, don't you want to play anymore?" Liz asks with a mocking pout. "I was just starting to have some fun."

When Steve doesn't respond in kind any further she just sighs.

"Alright, fine," She says, rolling her eyes. "Give me a few minutes, I'll find them."

"What, you have a psychic radar now too?" Steve inquires, mimicking her crossed arm pose. "Or maybe you can just smell Mike's desperation?"

"I'm sure I could if I tried, I hope somebody gave him the talk already," Liz replies, several of Mike's memories flashing to the front of her mind. "I mean, honestly, looking through his memories is a little sad."

"I'm sorry, I thought we were _finding_ them, not just making fun of Mike for being an awkward teenage boy," Steve retorts, trying to change the subject.

"Now who's the sassy one?" Liz shoots back, though she does uncross her arms. She takes a quick look around before going over to the biggest tree she can see. "If I'm under for more than ten minutes, pull my hand off of the tree."

"What are you going to do?" Steve questions following her over.

"I'm going to read the forest's mind," She answers, as if it should be obvious. She almost laughs at Steve's confused expression, but that wouldn't do to hold up her current persona. "Trees and plants have thoughts of their own that can be read, just not in the same way that humans have thoughts. They focus on finding nutrients, water, or sunlight, and on damage and repairs."

"And how is that going to help you find them?" He asks, still not following.

"When humans traipse through the woods, they're not exactly careful," Liz explains. "The roots detect changes in pressure, damage if someone steps on a raised root and breaks it, stuff like that. This forest is old enough that root networks have intertwined, which allows me to search through the whole thing. The only downside is that I tend to lose track of time since their thoughts don't travel at the same speed as ours."

Steve still looks like he wants to ask questions, but Liz just shakes her head at him, reaching out to touch the tree beside her. Immediately, the stimuli of the world around her dull to near-nonexistence. Her consciousness spreads into the complex networks of the forest, extending first through the tree she's touching, and then out through the roots.

The woods themselves are massive, which she soon discovers as she runs into the borders nearest to her. There are countless tiny woodland creatures roaming around, several families of deer, and even some wastoid about to poke a sleeping skunk with a stick. However, once she find the ones she's looking for, just barely brushing against their consciousness as they walk, she hones in on their location.

It all disappears in an instant when Steve pulls her away from the tree, and her natural instinct kicks in to whack him in the nuts, her other hand freezing just before she would have knocked him out.

"Why?" Steve groans, clutching himself as he collapses to his knees.

"Sorry, it's a reflex," Liz apologizes, somewhat sincerely at this point. "On the bright side, they're coming back now. We can go get you some ice."

"I hate you," Steve manages to croak out, face still in the leaves.

"Love you too, pretty boy," Liz chirps, turning back toward the house.

"We're gonna have to work on that whole reflex thing if you're going to live in my building," He tells her through gritted teeth, forcing himself to his feet. "Or I'm just gonna have to charge you."

"You wanted this version of me back, blame yourself," She retorts, though she does wait for him as he limps his way toward her.

"Then remind me to start wearing a cup," He responds, fighting his pain down to a grimace. "Seriously, you're showing a pattern here. Hopper, so far as he's shown, doesn't want any more kids, but Will and I might still like the option."

"I apologized, didn't I?" Liz responds with her signature smirk.

"And that helps _so much_ with the pain I'm in," Steve mutters. "If I didn't need a building super, I swear..."

"What was that?" Liz asks, holding a hand to her ear as they near the porch.

"Nothing, nothing..."

Steve trails off when he hears a familiar sound in the distance, one none to pleasant to his ears. He lets out a massive groan, straightening up and pushing off the pain as best he can.

"That's not Hopper's truck, is it?" Liz questions when she picks up on the sound.

"I wish..." Steve tells her, stretching a little and cracking his joints. "Let me do the talking, but if punches start flying, you're welcome to follow your instincts."

Liz raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment. Soon enough, a blue Camaro thunders down the dirt road, radio blasting, coming to a stop in front of the Byers' house, right in front of Steve and Liz. The engine cuts out, and the radio with it, followed by Billy Hargrove getting out, cigarette in hand.

"I guess we're making this a thing now, are we?" He asks, slamming the door shut and knocking his cigarette. "Every time my shit-sister doesn't come home when she's supposed to, she's here with you and the twerp brigade?"

"You could just call, you know," Steve responds. "I think you just want the excuse to come see me."

"In your dreams, Harrington," Billy chuckles. "Now where is she?"

"She's inside, and she's fine," Steve supplies, though he doesn't make any motion to invite Billy toward the house. "We had some trouble last night, so things got away from us. Now's not a great time, so I'll bring her home later."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself," Billy replies, taking a last drag before tossing his cigarette down and grinding it. "Looking for a rematch, are we?"

"Not today," Steve says, shaking his head. "Like I said, we had some trouble. Now's not a great time, so it's best if you just get back in the car and leave."

"Is that so, Harrington?" Billy asks, stepping closer. "You gonna make me? The way I remember, you came away a lot worse than I did in round one."

"I think that's my job now, right pretty boy?" Liz interjects, sizing Billy up. She doesn't seem impressed.

Billy only just seems to really notice her presence, smiling a little after he sizes her up as well. He does seem impressed.

"And what's a pretty girl like you doing in a dump like this?" He questions, turning his attention to her. "And with this bunch of losers?"

"One of those "losers" happens to be my sister," Liz tells him. "And unlike you, I actually give a damn about my sister. So dump or not, if she's here, I'm here."

"Aw, come on, I didn't mean it like that," He says, reaching out to touch her arm. "All I meant was that-"

His next words are cut off as he hits the ground, hard. He hits on his back, but Liz has him flipped over in a matter of moments, his arm that he'd stretched out braced against her leg in some kind of pin.

"Don't touch me," She growls. "Now, I think it's time you took pretty boy's advice and hit the road. Unless there's something you want to _say_?"

With the last word she moves her leg up a little, sending a shock of pain through Billy's arm. He lets out a short shout of pain, struggling for a moment to free himself before realizing that just hurts even more.

"Argh! Fine!" He shouts. "I'll go!"

Liz lets off the pressure immediately, stepping back from him so he can get up. Billy takes a second to let the pain pass before slowly picking himself off the ground. He shoots a glare at Liz, and then at Steve as he gets back in the car. The engine, and the radio with it, roars to life, soon followed by Billy peeling backward down the dirt road until he can turn around, shooting up dirt behind him.

"Not gonna lie, that was pretty incredible," Steve comments once Billy's gone.

"Don't mention it," Liz responds shortly, stretching her arms a little.

"I mean, you made that look so easy!" Steve continues with a grin, only for Liz to cut him off with a much harsher glare than Billy's.

"When I say don't mention it, I mean it," She says shortly. "I don't need everyone thinking I'm nice."

"I don't think this is going to entirely change their minds just yet, but it seems like a pretty good start," Steve responds, nodding his head toward the window. Four faces disappear a second too late, the curtains fluttering closed behind them. "If you're going to be staying, you might as well _try_ to get along with everyone."

Liz rolls her eyes and pushes past him in a huff, though it seems more like an attempt to hide the little smile on her face from Steve. They're met by a small crowd of awed middle-schoolers when they walk through the door.

"That was amazing!" Dustin exclaims with a giant grin.

"He didn't even get to throw a punch!" Lucas shouts, sharing an excited look with the others.

"You _need_ to teach me how to do that," Max insists, almost pleading.

"You're so strong!" Will tosses in, though he seems a little awkward about it.

None of them seem afraid of her though, at least not for those few moments. While she'll deny it to anyone that points it out, and add in a nice shot to the cojones when Steve does so more than once, she smiles at them. Not a sarcastic or intimidating smile, a real, sincere smile.

The reverie is cut off by the sound of footsteps on the porch outside, followed by a hesitant knock at the door. Seeing how Steve is still curled in a ball on the ground, and all the other older people are making breakfast and probably didn't hear, Will flings his front door open. Instead of letting them inside, he hugs them both in the doorway, soon joined by the rest of the party.

"Don't scare us like that," Will whispers quietly, as if he finally let out a breath he'd been holding for a long time. "We were all worried sick."

"Sorry," El murmur, her voice still somber and sullen. "We..."

She trails off, not knowing quite how to explain it.

"We needed a minute," Mike says, squeezing her hand, still twined with his despite being enveloped in a group hug.

For her part, Liz doesn't interrupt, nodding to each of them before going into the kitchen. The three occupants look up when she walks in, any conversation they'd been having dying off.

"Steve needs some ice," She tells them, mainly directed at Jonathan standing by the refrigerator. She waits until he has a bag of frozen peas in hand before continuing. "Oh, yeah, Mike and El are back to."

Nancy drops the slice of bread she'd been about to put in the toaster, practically sprinting out of the kitchen. From the sound of it, she hugs Mike way too tightly, and then starts talking his ear off about being gone for the whole night. Mike doesn't try to stop her though, from talking or hugging.

Mrs. Byers follows more slowly, checking that they're both alright after their night in the woods. She wets a tissue from her pocket with her tongue, using it to wipe some of the dried blood from under El's nose, most of it already knocked off during the night by her tossing and turning.

Liz watches it all, even the brief interaction between Jonathan and Steve when the frozen peas change hands. She'd be lying if she said a pang of jealousy didn't spike through her at the scene. It's everything she ever wanted, but could never have.

Or could she?

* * *

So, whatcha think?

It's shorter than my other chapters, but that seemed like a good point to leave it off with. It was starting to feel a little forced, so I capped it at the first semi-organic point I could reach. Obviously things are going to be a little different from now on for them, but that's not always a bad thing. Forest fires leave nice fertile ground behind for new growth to come in, unless somebody clears it away for some reason. There's so much more to come in this story that I haven't even hinted at yet, and I can't wait.

As always, feedback is always welcome. Even if it's a short one, they go a long way toward my motivation to write at 1 or 2 A.M after work. Comments, questions, and concerns are all useful.

Shoutout to my godly Beta Reader, Writing Tired, for still working with me after being inactive for so long! Sorry for spilling on the story you're planning before you even got to do much planning for it, but I'm sure it'll be a masterpiece when it's done! It doesn't matter when I send these chapters to them, they always get them back to me in absolute record time, a true miracle worker!

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3

In Progress- summer break(start)

To Do- 4th of July, something for end of summer, and the start of school

Until next time!


	9. Chapter 9: New Beginnings

Greetings, wanderers!

It's been quite some time since we last crossed paths, and I'm sure you all have many tales to tell. However, seeing as this is a one-way communication, I won't be able to hear them, unless you happen to post your own stories. I can however, offer my own story of what I've managed to do in my time away.

I.e, I'm not dead and am back to my sporadic late night/early morning postings. This is not a guarantee that I'll be back for regular updates, my schedule is horrifically hectic, and I've had about five or six hours to write in total since my last update.

A bunch of you asked me to update Somewhere New after my last update of this story. I promise that I'm working on it, but it's slated to be a long and emotional chapter. Writing emotional pieces doesn't come as naturally to me as writing about inherently dark content, so I have to take my time and do it right. That said, I just made a significant dent in it, and with any luck I'll get it to you before winter.

Note for this chapter: I don't have the player's handbook, dungeon master's guide, or monster manual for anything before 3.5, so I'll just be doing D&D in this story as 5e so I can just google all of my reference material. I know it's not authentic to the time period, but if you're looking for historical accuracy in a fanfiction (and not even a very high quality one at that) then you're expecting too much out of this site.

Now, for that story I promised you...

* * *

"Liz! Where'd you put the damn nails this time?!" Steve shouts up the unfinished stairs, surrounded by various tarps, cloths, and stacks of wood.

"On the railing, like they were the last ten times you asked me!" She yells back from another room upstairs.

"They're not there!" He retorts, scanning across the railing again in case he missed them. There's a small crash from upstairs, followed by a string of curses. "What was that?!"

"Your old fucking pipe just fucking burst on me, that's what fucking happened!" Liz rants angrily. "El! Where the fuck is my wrench?!"

There's no response from the third party, and soon enough there's another little crash, though this one sounds different.

"EL!" Liz roars at the top of her lungs, which earns a small squeak from another room. "IF I DON'T HAVE MY FUCKING WRENCH IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS, I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD I WILL THROW OUT ALL OF YOUR EGGOS AND SHAVE YOUR BOYFRIEND'S FUCKING HEAD!"

There's another crash and a clatter of something falling down. There are a few squeaks, followed by some mix of a growl and a sigh. A door slams shut as footsteps start, and then a dripping wet Liz slowly stalks out to where Steve can see her. He tries his best not to laugh.

"See where it gets you, Harrington," She threatens, shooting him a death glare. "I'm going to murder that girl one of these days."

"She's just trying to have some fun," Steve tells her, still trying not laugh. "We've had her couped up in this building for the better part of a month, and it's not like there's much to do here."

"All she had to do was wait a couple more _fucking_ hours, and those little shits would be out of school," Liz growls, her hands clenched into fists, glaring over her shoulder at a closed door. "It's not like they're not here every _fucking_ day."

"We're gonna need to work on that mouth of yours, young lady," Steve teases, which seems like the last straw for Liz's patience. She glances down at the floor, and then smirks.

"Oh, look, I found the nails," She says, leaning down to pick the can up. Steve seems to realize what she's going to do just before she does, but it's too late. With a simple turn of her wrist, she spills all the nails down the stairs, and then drops the can down after as they cascade. "Oops."

Liz turns on her heel and goes into another of the rooms, slamming the door shut after her. Steve sighs, looking at the dozens of nails strewn over the stairs and falling down to the floor. Is having a building super for free really worth all this?

He looks up when he hears a door creaking open, and cracks a smile when El hesitantly pokes her head around the corner.

"I think you're safe for now," He tells her, though she still eyes the door that Liz went through warily.

"So, are you gonna stand there watching, or are you gonna help me?" Steve asks, picking the nails up one by one.

El turns a little pink in embarrassment, but then closes her eyes to focus. When she opens them again, the nails start to rise into the air. The can rights itself on the stairs, and the nails begin to fall into it. By the end, El has a trail of blood running down over her lip, but she wipes it away nonchalantly, even proudly.

"You're getting better at that," Steve comments once she's done. "Last time you tried something like that, you ripped up the old stairs."

El turns a deeper shade of pink at the mention of her blunder, looking down.

"He never liked me using my powers," She murmurs quietly.

Steve sighs, almost inaudibly, walking up the stairs with care. He puts a gentle arm around the curly haired psychic teenager.

"So long as you're not in public, unless you're in danger, you can use your powers however you want," He assures her. "That was the deal when you moved in, and that's going to be the deal until you want to change it."

"Promise?" She asks, looking up at him.

"Promise," He assures her, holding out a pinky. They seal the deal, one fluffy haired person to another. "Now, did you clean your room yet?"

El looks away from him nonchalantly.

"El, you had a part in this deal too," He reminds her, crossing his arms over his chest. "You get to stay here, rent free, but you have to help out, and you have to do your chores."

Luckily for El, there's a buzz on the intercom from downstairs. Steve signs that he's watching to her before he picks his way back down the unfinished stairs. El disappears from the landing by the time he makes it to the little office he has near the door.

"Harrington Apartments, how may I help you?" He says into the intercom.

"Very funny Steve, now open the door," Joyce replies with a buzz of static.

Steve hits the button to unlock the door with a smile, and then leaves his office to greet her. She has a duffle bag with her, and a big grin on her face.

"Well, you seem happy about something," He observes, holding his hand out for the bag, which she gratefully relinquishes.

"Hopper stopped by the store earlier with some good news, and a gift," She tells him, trying to keep her voice down. Steve raises an eyebrow, glancing at the landing where El had been a minute ago.

"What kind of good news?" He asks, slipping the duffle over his shoulder.

"I want to tell El first, she'll be so excited," Joyce responds, starting toward the stairs. Steve has to hurry to stop her, grabbing her shoulder just before she starts up to the second floor.

"I'd rather not have people going up and down these stairs until I nail them down," He informs her when she starts to open her mouth. "My liability insurance doesn't kick in until the renovations are finished."

"Well then get her down here, this is important," She retorts, to which Steve rolls his eyes and sets the duffle bag down.

"Wait here," He says, and then carefully picks his way up the steps, gripping the railing tightly just in case. When he reaches the landing he goes around the corner and knocks on one of the doors. "El, Mrs. Byers is here, and she wants to talk to you about something."

There's a small thud from inside, and then El opens the door, though she seems to be trying to hide the inside from Steve.

"Everything all right in there?"He questions, trying to peer over her head.

"My shirt fell," She answers, inching forward so she can close the door.

"That sounded a little heavier than a shirt," He points out with a raised eyebrow.

"I was in it," El tells him simply, as if it were the most obvious thing.

Steve sighs, shaking his head and taking a step back so she can hide her messy residence from him. He may tell her to clean her room, but that really means that she needs to clean up the entire apartment she's been staying in. Once everything's up and running, she and Liz will have to share one of the apartments, but for now, they each get their own.

He ruffles her curly hair as they return to Mrs. Byers, and she ducks away from him, pushing his arm away.

"Watch your step going down," He warns when she tries to escape down the stairs. "And hold the railing, please."

If she hears him, she doesn't acknowledge it, but she does hold the railing. That is, until the last few steps when she just leaps to hug Joyce.

"I missed you too, sweetie. How's everything going?" The woman greets, hugging her surrogate daughter tightly while Steve picks his way back to the first floor. "Have Liz and Steve been nice?"

"Liz is scary..." El murmurs, glancing back up the stairs at Liz's door.

"Well, it's not nice to take people's things, El," Steve reminds her. "Liz may be mean, and scary, and short-tempered, and impolite, and-"

"I can hear you, Harring-turd!" Liz shouts from behind the closed door.

Joyce and Steve both chuckle at the outburst, and El grins a little wider. She and Joyce separate a little so they can talk.

"What was I saying?" Steve starts again. "Oh, right, Liz may be all of those things, and plenty more besides-"

"I _will_ shave that fluffy head of yours if you keep talking!" Liz interjects again.

"But, she's still a friend, so you shouldn't take things without asking," Steve continues, as if he didn't hear anything.

El nods, trying to stop herself from cracking up, which Liz would definitely kill her for. Sometimes it's like the older girl can hear feathers doing sign languages.

"The fact that this is a house of dingbats aside," Mrs. Byers continues, unable to contain her excitement any longer. "I've got amazing news for you!"

El latches onto the excitement, practically vibrating in place. Steve tries to keep his mouth shut, but it's hard not to chuckle at the childlike excitement El always exudes for surprises. He settles for a grin instead.

"Hopper came by the store earlier today," Joyce starts, which makes El stop buzzing. Steve and Joyce both make note of that fact. "He had his check-in with Dr. Owens, and they talked about a few important things. There are some things we'll have to do to get you all set up for school in the fall, creating a new identity and everything." She pauses for a breath, trying to speed through the logistical part of her news. "And then Dr. Owens gave us the good news."

Joyce pauses again, though this time is purely to be dramatic. She has El's rapt attention back, and the longer curls on top of her head are starting to vibrate.

"The last sweep team just finished at the Lab, they're all officially gone!" Joyce announces, which is far from what either of her audience members were expecting. "You get to spend the summer outside!"

She almost gets toppled by El's second hug, so it takes her a few moments to tell that El is full-on shaking now. The girl's head is buried against Joyce's shirt, sobs wracking her tiny form, making her seem even smaller.

"El, sweetie, what wrong?" Joyce asks, brimming with concern as she tries to comfort the crying girl. She and Steve exchange a befuddled glance, until there's a creak and a burst of laughter from upstairs.

Liz slowly walks out of her room to lean on the banister, chuckling the whole while. She stares down at them with an all-knowing expression on her face.

"She's not upset, you dingbats," Liz tells them. "You just handed a child the keys to the candy store."

That doesn't seem to explain it very well to either of them, so Liz rolls her eyes at them and waltzes over to the stairs. Instead of going down on foot, however, she slides down the banister. With just a few steps she's close enough to give El a nice, reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"She's happy."

XxX

Steve is just finishing the last step of the new stairs when the door buzzer starts blowing up. He hammers the last nail with a sigh before standing up and stretching his back out again.

"They're here!" He calls into space, waiting for the telltale sign that El heard him.

When he hears the sound of something falling over coming from El's room he cracks a smile, and then starts down the stairs. The thunder of steps behind him is his only warning to move to the side as El barrels down the stairs.

By the sound of surprise outside the door, El probably tackles someone when she bursts through it. Once Steve makes it over, much slower than his younger tenant, he discovers that, not only did she tackle Mike, as is her customary greeting, she caught Will in her hug as well. Max, Lucas, and Dustin are all trying not to laugh behind them.

"Good to see you too, El," Will says, also trying to hold back a laugh. "Can you let us up now?"

"Be careful Will, Mike might not like you cutting his floor-time short," Max jokes, starting a whole new wave of laughter.

"Oh shut up, Carrot Head," Mike retorts as El gets up, though she keeps a big, excited grin on her face.

"Whatever you say, Frog Face," Max replies, completely unfazed.

They hold their staredown for another few seconds, until they both break and start laughing. Max holds a hand out to help him up, which he accepts.

"Since when do you like being called Frog Face?" Steve questions, watching the whole exchange from the doorway.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones," Mike starts, cracking a smile.

"But words will never hurt me," The other four finish, with more than one eye roll among them.

"It's just a name," Mike explains. "Plus, frogs are pretty cool."

El looks incredibly proud, but also seems ready to explode with excitement. The party finally takes note of that fact, or at least part of it.

"Are those elbow pads you're wearing?" Max asks, finally noticing the extra items on El's arms. "And knee pads?"

"I have roller skates!" El finally announces, every ounce of enthusiasm bursting out of her all at once. "I get to go outside!"

It takes a few moments for those two vaguely connected statements to settle into their minds, only loosely registering them as El starts jumping for joy. Once they realize exactly what she just said, however, El almost gets smushed in the middle of a group hug.

"El, that's amazing!"

"This is gonna be so epic!"

"Now that school's over, this is _perfect_!"

"We're gonna do so much cool stuff together!"

"You have to come to the arcade!"

"We're taking you to the movies!"

"Hey!" Steve shouts, cutting through the gaggle of excited voices. "Maybe give the girl some space before you start shouting."

They all take a half step backward, almost involuntarily, giving a slightly more queasy-looking El space to breathe.

"Sorry El," They mumble.

"It's okay, just...a lot," She tells them.

They exchange a few guilty looks amongst themselves for the minute it takes for El to get some color back in her face.

"So, El, do you want to practice with your skates?" Mike asks, which instantly peaks her attention. The grin comes back to her face.

"I'll get them, wait here!" She answers, already running past Steve into the building and up the stairs.

"I'll get the first aid kit," Lucas says, stepping past Steve more slowly.

"It's in the office!" Steve calls after him without turning around. "So, do any of you actually know how to skate?"

"A little bit," Will admits. "Jonathan took me a couple times."

"I've done ice skating before, I'd guess it would be similar," Mike adds, which makes Max snort with laughter. "Something wrong, Carrot Head?"

"I didn't peg you for the ice skating type, Wheeler," She answers, biting her cheek to stop herself from laughing again.

"For your information, my family forces us to go every year after Christmas, before all of our cousins go home," He explains. "I'm actually pretty good, I taught Holly how to stay up on her own."

"For _your_ information, I'm never going to forget that," Max informs him. "And you _will_ have to live with it forever."

"You don't have to tease him that hard, Max," Dustin cuts in.

"This coming from the one who took figure skating lessons when he was little?" Mike responds, making Dustin go white as a sheet, and then red as a tomato.

"How the hell do you know about that?" The embarrassed boy demands, and then rounds on their other friend. "Will! You promised not to tell anyone about that! What the hell?"

"He didn't say a word, Dustin," Lucas interjects, returning with the first aid kit. "Remember when your mom took us all ice skating over winter break in sixth grade? She spilled the beans while you were at the snack bar getting nachos."

Dustin's angry face falls into abashed betrayal, which not even Steve can help himself from laughing at. He's saved from further embarrassment as El thunders down the stairs once more, her shiny new skates in hand. The shoes are black, with bright pink laces, and matching pink wheels and brake stub.

"Pretty, right?" She says proudly, holding them up for everyone to see.

"Really pretty," Mike agrees.

"She's asking about the skates, doofus," Max points out.

Mike rolls his eyes at her, and then they set about getting the skates onto El's feet and tying them tight. They each hold one of her arms as she stands up, helping her balance as she takes her first step.

Despite their help, she still slips on that first step, almost taking them all down.

"First rule of skating, don't try to walk," Dustin points out. "Shift your weight side to side so you start rolling."

As it turns out, Dustin is a pretty good skating teacher. Less than twenty minutes pass before El is slowly skating her way across the building's tiny parking lot. Mike and Max walk next to her for support, but her balance is pretty good.

"I'm doing it!" El exclaims when she finally lets go of their hands for balance. She makes it about another foot before turning to look at Mike, which throws her balance off. She falls right into him, sending them crashing to the ground.

"Ow..." Mike groans, shifting a little to get his left hand out from under them.

"Mike, you're bleeding!" El cries, scrambling off of him and grabbing his hand, which has a nice scrape on the back where they landed on it.

That's the cue for Lucas and Will to rush over with the first aid kit. Will seems to know what he's doing, grabbing the alcohol swabs to clean the scrape, completely ignoring the grimace on Mike's face when it stings. It takes two bandaids to cover the scrape, but Will applies them with expert precision

"I think that's enough practice for today," Dustin decides once they get Mike and El back on their feet.

"Yeah, we still have to do the next part of the campaign, too," Lucas agrees as Mike and Max reposition themselves to guide El back to the door.

Will goes on ahead to get Steve to open the door, and the older teen eyes the bandaids on Mike's hand suspiciously. The party moves past him so El can sit on the stairs to get her skates off.

"I think that went well," Dustin comments, coming in last.

"Nobody died, and I didn't have to get the nail bat, so yeah," Steve agrees. "It did go pretty well."

XxX

"When you reach the inn, you find a cluster of people, around ten of them, gathered in the town square outside," Mike narrates from his notebook. He has his protective screen set up so nobody can see what he's planning, though El can peek around it if she wanted to. She and Mike are sitting right next to each other, holding hands under the table. "What does your party do?"

"Let's just go to the inn," Max says before Dustin can open his mouth. "We need to long rest after the _two_ fights we've gotten in already."

"But what if we learn something important from the crowd?" Dustin insists. "We owe it to the sense of adventure to leave no lead unfollowed."

"And what if it turns out to be another combat encounter?" Max retorts. "Will's out of spell slots to heal us, and we don't have any potions."

"There's no way we'd get a combat encounter in the middle of town," Lucas reasons. "The town guard people we met on the way in would be all over it."

"I'm with Max here," Will decides. "I don't want to risk it when we're all low on hp. If any of you die, that's on me."

"El, what do you think?" Max asks, pleading with her eyes. "Should we just go to the inn and rest like we _really_ need to or-"

"Or do we follow the spirit of adventure," Dustin interrupts. "And see what's happening with this crowd?"

All eyes around the table are fixed on El, waiting with baited breath for her to cast the deciding vote. She glances down at her character sheet, and then at Mike, who just smiles at her.

"The crowd," She declares, getting a groan from Max and Will, and a cheer from Dustin and Lucas. "The spirit of adventure."

Mike squeezes her hand, and they smile at each other before he continues.

"Your party approaches the crowd, and when you get closer you can hear that they're talking about The Dragon Queen," He tells them. "There's one man at the front of the crowd, a half-elf priest wearing robes. On either side of him is a human acolyte, and the rest of the crowd seems to be all humans."

"Who the hell is The Dragon Queen?" Max responds, looking down at her cheat notecard that Lucas had put together for her.

"One of the crowd members hears your question and seems both shocked and angry," Mike replies. "The rest of crowd starts to follow his example."

"Shit," Dustin mutters, looking down at his sheet.

"We're screwed," Lucas groans when he glances at his remaining hit points.

"I probably shouldn't say I told you so," Max says. "But I'm going to. I told you so. I told you we should go rest and heal up."

"We don't know that there's going to be a fight," Will interjects, trying to diffuse their argument. "We could try to roll persuasion and convince them not to fight us. Dustin, you're a bard, you can totally do that."

The rest of the table glances around at each other, and they all glance at Mike, who's struggling to keep a poker face.

"Fine, I roll persuasion," The boy caves, grabbing his d20.

The air is thick with suspense as Dustin rolls the die, hoping for the one thing that could get them out of this situation to come through. The only thing louder than the die clattering across the table is the thump of Dustin's heart in his chest.

"That's a nat one," Mike announces when it comes to a stop. Four heads around the table slump in defeat. "You challenge the entire crowd to a fight, and insult their mothers and The Dragon Queen for good measure. Roll initiative."

Mike makes his own rolls for the enemies, writing them in his notebook. Once he's finished he passes the die to El, since they're currently sharing Mike's dice until he can buy her a set for herself. Max and Lucas are also sharing, except for the d6, since Max brought her own 'lucky die' with her.

"Four," Max sighs.

"Six," Lucas adds.

"Fourteen!" Dustin announces hopefully.

"Nine," Will murmurs, looking over his character wistfully.

"Twenty," El reports, quietly, so they almost miss it.

The rest of the party freezes. El is a sorcerer, so if she has even a single area spell left, she could save them.

"Please tell me you have a spell slot left," Lucas begs. "Please, anything."

"I have a second level slot left," She informs her teammates with a little smile. "I'd like to cast Burning Hands with it."

"Roll for damage," Mike tells her with a grin, even as he makes saving throws.

The rest of the party can't even tell if his continued grin is because the enemies succeeded their saving throws, or that El is just existing again. Quite frankly, they can't be bothered to care at the moment.

"Twenty two," El reports with a happy smile, which only gets wider when her friends start to cheer.

"Five of the crowd members and both acolytes go down in flames before they can even reach the party! Nothing is left but ash!" Mike announces, the cheers only getting louder. "But three still remain!" His voice barely cuts over the reverie, cracking a little at the end, but only El notices. "El, roll wild magic."

The cheers turn to nervous anticipation, all knowing that Wild Magic could save them or kill them if El rolls a one.

"One," El informs them, which does nothing to ease the tension. If El gets the wrong roll on her wild magic table, it could all be over.

"Roll percentile," Mike continues, ignoring their other friends for the moment and passing her the special dice.

El takes the tens place d10 and rolls it once.

"Zero," The telekinetic girl says, taking the die for the ones place now, just a normal d10. Her roll is a bit stronger than the last one, sending it far across the table. With each clattering sound it makes as it rolls each party members' heart constricts a little tighter.

It finally stops in front of Will.

"Nine?" He says hopefully, his fingers crossed under the table.

Mike runs his finger down the page in one of his books to find the right effect, and he smiles when he looks up. He takes a long, deep breath to prolong their tension, until Max looks like she actually might commit a murder.

"You cast Magic Missile as a fifth level spell," He tells them, and the cheers return. "That means you get seven missiles, but you have to fire them all at once. Each one deals 1d4 plus one force damage, so split them up however you want."

El pauses to think, looking around the table at her tense friends, and then back at Mike. She looks straight into his eyes, squeezing his hand in hers.

"I'll shoot one at the priest, and three each at the other two," She decides moments later. If even possible, the others get more tense.

"Roll for damage," Mike replies, smiling even wider than before. "Priest first."

El picks up the d4, letting it drop again for the roll.

"Four," El announces happily.

"With the plus one that's five total damage," Mike murmurs, double checking the stat block for the priest. His grin breaks out again when he looks up. "The missile goes straight through him! He drops to the ground, dead as a doornail!"

"Woo!" Dustin cheers, before realizing that his friends haven't started to cheer yet. There are still two enemies to go, ones that must be decently strong.

"Three, two, and three," El continues, making three successive rolls.

"The first fanatic flies back into the side of a well, dead before he hits the ground!" Mike announces. "Only one more to go!"

El once more makes three rolls in succession with the d4. If she can kill the last one then nobody in the party is going to die.

"Two, two," El starts, the anxiety building around the table with the two low rolls. It only gets worse when the die goes off the table, which means she has to reroll. Dustin's foot starts tapping like a jackhammer under the table. "Four."

"VICTORY!" Dustin exclaims, leaping to his feet at the same time their friends just start to cheer. "You're a _god_ El, a freaking _god_!"

El blushes a little at the praise turning to look at Mike, only to find him already moving to hug her. There's no way he's getting the narration in until they stop cheering, so why not take the chance to move a little closer to her?

The reverie is broken by a thunderous storm of banging on the door to the apartment, shocking them all back to reality.

"Hey! Nerds!" Six shouts through the wooden slab. "It's ten o'clock at night! Keep it the fuck down with your nerdfest!"

"Ten o'clock isn't even that late," Lucas points out.

There's another bang on the door.

"I heard that, Sinclair!" Liz yells, which is enough to make Lucas scared. "You better be wrapping it up in there, Joyce and Nancy are waiting downstairs!"

"But I thought we were having a sleepover tonight," Dustin complains. "I brought extra snacks and everything."

"I asked my mom to drop my stuff off, I wasn't feeling too great before I came," Will admits, and then holds his hands up when everyone starts to look concerned. "I'm fine now, it was probably just indigestion or something."

"Hurry up!" Liz calls once more before loudly stalking away from the door.

The party exchanges glances, until Mike finally stands up, quickly joined by El.

"You two were holding hands the _whole_ time?!" Dustin exclaims. "That's why it took you so long to check your books every time?!"

"As God of this game, I declare a recess," Mike says, he and El starting for the door.

"Is no one else annoyed by this?" The curly haired bard demands.

"Did you really not know it was going on the whole time?" Lucas asks as he, Max, and Will get up as well.

"It was pretty obvious," Max tells him. "You should get checked for glasses."

"But, but, but," Dustin sputters, until Will puts a hand on his shoulder.

"They're just going to keep doing it," He says. "You should just accept that they're going to play D&D one handed from now on."

Dustin hangs his head in defeat, slowly getting up and following behind his friends. They regroup in the lobby where Joyce and Nancy, as well as Steve and Liz, are waiting for them.

"Are you feeling better sweetie?" Joyce asks, checking her son over and laying a hand on his forehead, but he squirms away.

"I'm fine, mom," He insists, though she still looks concerned, as she always does. Still, she hands over the backpack and sleepover essentials she'd brought with her.

"What are you here for?" Mike asks his sister, more nervous than anything.

"What, not happy to see your big sister, Mike?" She responds with a smirk. "I come all this way to see how you're doing, and this is the thanks I get."

Mike rolls his eyes, but consents to give his sister a short hug, despite the laughter from his friends.

"Seriously, what are you doing here though?" Mike asks again. "I know you didn't come out just to see me."

"Presumptuous of you to assume that I wouldn't," She retorts. "But, if you must know, I'm here for El. Really, _we're_ here for El."

The girl in question perks up at her name, snapping out of a daydream about a certain paladin and a certain sorcerer slaying dragons together.

"Since we got the great news," Joyce starts. "We thought that it's finally time to follow through on the Christmas present we promised you."

Now she looks confused, trying to remember back to Christmas, and what Joyce and Nancy had promised her. Most of the day is a blur now, but a happy one. Mike had given her a supercom and eggos, and Hopper had let Mike start visiting her after that. Those seemed like the most important parts.

"We're taking you out for a girl's day!" Nancy announces.

The concept goes right over El's curly head, somehow not getting tangled in her longer hair.

"It means we're going to take you, and the other girls, on a shopping trip," Joyce explains, which El at least seems to grasp.

"We're going to get you new clothes for the summer, stuff for school in the fall, and it's all going to be new, and it'll all be your size instead of a hand me down," Nancy continues, taking the girl's hands excitedly. "We might even get mani pedis if we have time."

The terms continue to go over El's head, but she picks up on the excitement, a big grin breaking out on her face.

"Of course, that means that you're coming with us too, Max," Joyce adds, which makes the redhead smile a little wider. "And Liz, you're welcome to join too."

The older girl seems genuinely taken aback by the offer, which everyone seems to take note of. For a few brief moments, it's like Liz almost _smiles_. A real, genuine smile, instead of her normal sarcastic grin.

"Yeah, sure," Liz manages to say after a few moments, cementing her gruff exterior again. "I guess I'll come."

"Perfect," Joyce says. "Don't plan anything for this saturday, we're going to the mall. I'll drive, of course."

"Shotgun," Nancy, Liz, and Max say at the same time.

"I'm pulling seniority," Nancy declares before the other two can even start to argue, earning two glares.

"What about a shotgun?" El asks Mike at a whisper.

"I'll explain later," He murmurs back.

XxX

Somehow managing a semi-coherent campaign until two in the morning, which involved getting kicked out of town before resting, defending a temple where they finally managed to rest, fighting some dragon wyrmlings, and meeting dragon riders for the first time.

Per Steve's sleepover rules, El leaves the door to her apartment open so he can check on them. The six of them clear everything out of the center of the room, meaning the folding table and chairs Steve had brought for them, doing their best to avoid all of El's stuff that she'd pushed to the edges of the room before they got there. Will is the first to fall asleep, as soon as his head hits the pillow. He curls up a little in his sleeping bag, as if he's trying to hug something.

Max purposely puts herself between Will and El so she doesn't have to listen to Lucas and Dustin's arguments, drifting from the waking world soon after. Lucas and Dustin argue over who gets the spot closer to the door vs. the window, ultimately ending up exactly where they started after switching five times.

Around twenty minutes later, two of the six still haven't fallen asleep.

"Hey Mike..." El whispers from her spot with Mike, his left hand covering her right in between them. Her voice is so soft even she can barely hear it.

"Yeah El?" He responds immediately, squeezing her hand a little.

"Can I ask you something...?" She starts, sitting up on her sleeping bag and checking that their friends are actually asleep.

"What is it?" He questions, sitting up as well, focusing on where he knows she is in the dark even though he can't really see her.

"I need your help with something," She says tentatively. "But you can say no."

"You know I'll help you with anything," He assures her.

"Anything?" El questions, recalling the definition of that word.

"Anything," Mike promises, holding his pinky out for her, which she somehow finds in the darkness.

She takes a deep breath, still nervous despite having practiced this question a few hundred times before her friends had come over. She'd been thinking about it for a while, actually, but now she's finally ready to go through with it.

"I need you to help me be pregnant."

XxX

 **That Saturday...**

"What's this one?" El asks, pulling another item off of the clothing rack.

"That's a dress sweetie," Joyce tells her patiently, already holding quite a few other things. "I don't think you're really a dress person though."

"I liked my dress..." El murmurs, remembering back to the old pink dress the boys had given her out of Nancy's things. She absently goes to scratch her wrist, which Max stops her from doing so she doesn't rub the concealer off.

"You can do so much better than a dress," Max comments, going to out the jeans on a rack a few feet away. "Try these instead, they're more your style."

"My...style?" El asks with a tilt of her head, staring at the garment Max holds out to her as if it were an alien with three heads.

"The kind of clothes that you wear that you like, and that make you look badass," Max explains, thrusting the pants into her hands. "Let's face it, the overalls just aren't going to cut it in high school."

"What's wrong with overalls?" She questions, looking down at her current clothes. An oversized flannel shirt, denim overalls, a gray t-shirt with Hawkins Police on it, and formerly white shoes.

"Just trust us on this one, you don't want to show up to school in overalls," Nancy advises, coming over with a small stack of clothes. "You guys might hang out with the boys, but you're not total nerds like they are. The two of you need something a little more..."

"Badass?" El offers, which makes the other three chuckle.

"If you want badass, how about one of these?" Liz suggests, holding up a black leather jacket. It's just like the one Liz herself is wearing, except newer. "Show up in this and nobody will fuck with you."

Joyce's eyes widen a little, the image of El in her punk makeover look coming back to her mind. There's nothing wrong with it, but it maybe shouldn't be El's go to fashion style. People in town will start whispering about her, and that could be dangerous, especially in the next few months.

"How about we go try on the stuff we already have before we pull more stuff off of the shelves," Joyce interjects, hefting her pile to make her point. Liz sends her a look, that she knows exactly what the older woman is trying to do, but doesn't say anything about it.

"Try on?" El questions, plunging straight back into her confusion.

"Follow us," Nancy tells her, setting off toward the dressing rooms. El hesitates for a second, until Max grabs her hand and starts pulling her along.

"Is this what all shopping is like?" El asks as Max steers them after Nancy and Joyce. "It seems complicated."

"Just clothes shopping, really," Max informs her. "And makeup, that can take just as long if you don't know exactly what you want."

El shudders a little at the thought of makeup shopping. She only has a very limited breadth of knowledge about makeup, which she learned from Kali.

It takes almost an hour and a half to get through all the things they'd picked out for El, and most of it doesn't even make the cut. In the end they get El a whole bunch of kinds of jeans, in different washes and one pre-ripped at Liz's insistence; a skirt, _and_ a miniskirt that would give Hopper a heart attack if he knew; over two dozen t-shirts, blouses, long-sleeved shirts, and sweaters, which almost all came with stripe patterns at El's own insistence; a jean jacket and the leather jacket; as well as a couple nice new sundresses for El to wear on special occasions later in the summer.

"Is that it?" El asks once she's changed back into her own clothes.

"Not by a longshot, missy," Nancy tells her. "Now we need to get you underwear, bras, pajamas, bathing suits, and accessories."

El actually looks a bit terrified at the idea of there being even _more_ shopping to do today. Nancy pulls her off to the next section, followed closely by Max. Liz and Joyce, carrying all of the things to buy, follow more slowly.

"She's not a big fan of shopping, is she?" Joyce observes once they're alone.

"Not really, but can you blame her?" Liz responds. "It might help if you let her pick her own stuff. She hasn't actually taken a single thing off the rack on her own yet."

"I just don't want her to pick something that's going to make people talk about her," Joyce says defensively. "It's a small town, once gossip starts going around, everybody hears about it."

"I wasn't placing blame here," Liz replies cooly. "But you have to let Jane be Jane, there's no way around it. If she wants to wear a bright yellow dress with a pink hat every day, you have to let her do that."

"This coming from the girl who's getting the exact same clothes as she has right now?" Joyce retorts.

"This is who I am, whether I like it or not," Liz answers. "If I look like I can rip a man's heart out with my bare hands, people tend to leave me alone." Joyce doesn't even seem to know _how_ to respond to that, and for good reason. "Still, I'm getting jeans without holes in them, and a spare jacket."

They don't get to continue their conversation, meeting up with the rest of their group as they try to find a set of pajamas for El.

"You'll need some flannels for the winter, so you stay warm," Nancy is saying. "Do you want just solid color, or a pattern?"

"Same for your regular pajamas, I say go with the shorts and a tank-top," Max adds, gesturing to another section of the table.

El's eyes go wide with all the different choices in front of her, to which Liz rolls her eyes and sets her portion of the items down.

"Here's an easy way to decide," She says, stepping close to El. "I'm going to cover your eyes, and you just point. If you like it, then that's what we'll get. Okay?"

El nods, letting out a small sigh of relief. Liz moves behind her fellow psychic and puts her hands over the girl's eyes. With a hesitant finger El points at the side of the table with the flannel pajamas, randomly selecting a set of pink pajamas with white polka dots all over them.

"They're soft..." El murmurs when Nancy hands them to her. "I like them."

"See how easy that was?" Liz comments as the flannels pass back to Nancy. "Now just two more and you've got your pajamas."

In the same fashion, El selects a pair of gray pajama shorts and, taking Max's advice into account, a soft yellow spaghetti-strap tank top.

"Now you can stop complaining that it's too hot in your room to sleep," Liz says, adding all the pajamas to another bag.

"Alright, now we need some bathing suits, and some underwear," Nancy announces, mentally checking stuff off of the list. She goes to take El's hand, but the girl's attention is elsewhere. "See something?"

Liz and Joyce exchange a brief glance when El nods, and then walks over to a rack full of sweatshirts. She pulls one out of the lot, holding it up for them to see, and they all have to cover their mouths so they don't laugh. The sweatshirt is mostly green, with a white front and green pockets, but that isn't the funny part.

That would be the hood of the sweatshirt, which has two big frog eyes sewn onto it, as well as two black dots for the 'nose'.

"I want this one," She says definitively. None of them even try to dissuade her when they see the look on her face.

El puts it on right away, and refuses to take it off as they get the rest of their items. Even at checkout she's loath to take it off for even a few seconds to get it scanned. All the while, she has a giant grin plastered on her face.

Once they're outside the store, Max takes the opportunity to ask the question on all of their minds.

"Alright, spill it El, why the frog?" She demands, to which El blushes and looks away. "Oh no, you're not getting out of this one."

El's blush deepens, and by the time they reach the car, it's like she's promoting Christmas in her new sweatshirt.

"I thought it looked cute, like Mike," She finally tells them.

Nancy, Max, and Liz all lose it at that. Joyce smiles at the poor girl so she doesn't feel embarrassed, but it's hard to keep a straight face.

"My god, El, you're too precious for my doofus of a brother," Nancy manages to say before her laughter takes over again.

"Just so you know," Max adds, fighting down her laughter long enough to talk. "I will be giving the both of you shit about this forever. Just so you're aware."

"I think it's sweet," Liz says. "She's making sure everybody knows that Mike is _her_ man. Just try not to give us tadpoles any time soon."

"Yeah, because the entire school is going to be fighting over Mike Wheeler come September," Max retorts with an extra snort of laughter.

El blushes darker when the laughter starts up again, looking down at her shoes.

"Don't listen to them, sweetie," Joyce chimes in after putting her section of bags in the trunk. "Mike's going to love it, and if the two of you like it then that should be more than enough for the rest of the world."

El looks up and smiles, and then takes the opportunity to steal shotgun when the other three are too busy laughing to notice.

* * *

Well, that was a chapter, wasn't it? Lots of words, most of them put into sentences, some nice application of grammar, vocabulary, and syntax.

I hope you enjoyed it, and the nice little cliff hangers I gave you for this chapter. Even for nerds, it's always important to use protection. No matter how high your AC is, pregnancy and STIs always seem to roll nat 20s.

If you guys could keep the reviews to be about _this_ story, I would greatly appreciate it. I know I need to update my other ones, I just have so little time to do it, and this story comes most naturally to me when I write. I promise I won't disappear forever, I'm just so busy it's not even funny.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3, summer break(start)

In Progress- 4th of July

To Do- something for end of summer and the start of school

Until next time!


	10. Chapter 10: Like the 4th of July

Greetings, wanderers!

It's been far too long, you beautiful bunch of fools! For some reason, you're back here again, even after I forgot to update for so long (this time I actually forgot; I thought I updated this in December _and_ January, but I was wrong). It does, however, explain why my chapter pool had become a pool again, and not a desperate race to finish the current chapter, send it to my wonderful beta reader (thank you again!), and then post it.

Sorry to have left you all with that cliffhanger all this time without any new information (though I did manage to update my other two active stories (and finish one of them!), so I wasn't _completely_ off the grid. Normally that would prompt me to post two chapters, but that would defeat the whole purpose of me trying to get ahead of where I'm posting, so you'll have to make due with this one.

Without further ado (and I very much enjoy the ado), here is the next installment of Number Games!

* * *

"And you're sure you remember where you're going?" Joyce asks for the fiftieth time in that car ride.

"Yes, mom, it's right up here," Jonathan answers for the fiftieth time.

His words prove true when they come around the side of the building to find Hopper leaning against the side of the Blazer. He looks just as annoyed as always, but when the car comes into view, something softer passes over his face.

"Can this Murray guy really set us up with all the fake papers we need?" Liz questions as Jonathan puts the car in park.

"Trust us, he can do it," Nancy assures her, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door. El seems the most thankful that they've arrived, having gotten stuck with the middle seat for the entire ride over.

When she gets out of the car, El glances in Hopper's direction, but quickly looks elsewhere. Her brow furrows, either annoyed or in thought, though Hopper assumes the former when he sees it.

"Hey, Hop," Joyce greets. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

"Just a few minutes," He mutters. "How's she doing?"

"She's doing great, actually," She informs him. "She loved the skates you got for her, and we took her out for a girls day last saturday, which reminds me..."

She reaches into her purse, digging out a ridiculously long piece of paper.

"I marked the things that she got, you can reimburse me whenever," She says, handing over the receipt. Hopper takes it like its radioactive waste, though he does glance down the line.

"I'm guessing that's where she got that jacket she's wearing?" He responds, to which Joyce just sighs.

"It's her new favorite," She explains. "Reminds her of Mike. She basically hasn't taken it off since she got it."

Hopper suppresses a groan at the thought.

"Hey, it could be worse," Joyce points out. "She could have just made him stay over to get his scent on it, and you'd hate that even more."

"I would," He admits. "But that doesn't mean I'm happy about how obsessive she is about Mike, this is what I was trying to avoid."

"Pick your battles, Hop," Joyce advises. "You're not going to win this one, so just let it go. Find something you can actually win."

"Hey, let's get this show on the road already!" Murray shouts from his doorway, Nancy having gone and knocked while they were catching up.

He ushers them all inside, slamming the door shut behind them and locking it up tighter than a bank vault. Once everything is secure, he takes a deep breath, and turns to his guests, particularly his return visitors.

"I believe, when last we spoke, I told you the terms of our next encounter," He starts, which neither Nancy nor Jonathan can remember at the moment. "Let me refresh your memory. I said, if you ever need my help again, _don't_. Despite that, here we are again."

"These are extenuating circumstances-," Nancy tries to explain, but Murray holds up a hand to forestall her.

"My services are not going to be free a second time," He informs them. "Especially since there's no chance to expose a government conspiracy this time."

"But-"

"Hold on Nance," Liz interrupts, laying a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'll handle it."

Hopper subconsciously takes a half step backward as Liz walks past him. Murray eyes her suspiciously as she walks toward him, but doesn't say anything.

"I can offer you..." She starts, digging through her pockets with great care. "Three dollars and...sixty-five cents, half a pack of gum, and a tissue."

Murray actually starts to laugh at the offer Liz pulls out of one pocket. The rest of the room tenses when they realize that Liz still has a hand in her other pocket.

In a single fluid sequence Liz drops her initial offer, drives her fist into Murray's solar plexus, kicks in the back of his knees, draws her knife, and holds it to the man's throat.

"Here's some free advice," She whispers directly in his ear. "They're the nice ones, they play by the rules. If you don't want to deal with them, then you get me."

"Liz," El says, getting the girl's attention. Liz rolls her eyes, putting her knife away and stepping back.

"This would go so much quicker if you let me read him and gut him," She responds, moving to the back of the group.

"This isn't how people usually conduct business, you know," Murray coughs, slowly getting back up. "I'm not a charity."

"Just think of the tax write off," Hopper tells him, hauling the man to his feet. "Now how long will it take to get all the ID we need for them?"

"Them?" Murray questions. "I thought you only had one government target."

"Forget about me already?" Liz asks from the back of the room, fiddling with her knife. Murray swallows hard, and then nods.

"Assuming you want birth certificates, social security cards, driver's license, maybe even passports, I'll need the day, at least," He answers. "So I'd get comfortable, and get your picture faces ready."

"I've got a birth certificate, social security, and adoption papers for Jane already," Hopper adds. "She just needs the passport."

"Planning on doing a bit of travelling in the future?" Murray inquires, already moving away from the group.

"Better safe than sorry," Liz corrects, following after him with El in tow.

XxX

The sun is just starting to set when the group arrives back in Hawkins. Thankfully, nobody got gutted, and both El and Liz have all the documents they need to prove that they actually exist.

"I'll take her upstairs, don't worry," Liz says as everyone is getting out of the car. El had fallen asleep on the way back, and everyone seems loath to wake her.

Without any apparent effort, Liz hefts the younger girl out of the back seat and walks into the building, careful not to catch El's head on the door.

"Well, that went pretty well," Joyce comments as they watch Liz and El disappear.

"I just hope we don't need to use most of these," Hopper mutters, looking over the forged documents. "The passports especially, they won't pass any kind of actual investigation."

"They'll be fine for now, though," Nancy retorts. "You said that Dr. Owens is working on getting the real deal, but it's going to take months to get everything done without anyone noticing."

"Don't you guys have jobs to get to, or something?" Hopper complains.

"I took the day off since I didn't know how long this would take," Jonathan answers with a raised eyebrow.

"Same here, plus the library isn't that busy during the summer anyway," Nancy informs the surly police chief.

She and the chief hold a staring contest for almost ten seconds before Nancy smirks and turns away, pulling Jonathan with her.

"Don't stay out too late!" She calls over her shoulder. Hopper glares at her, even if she can't see it.

Once the two teens are gone, Hopper looks back at Joyce, only to find her already giving him a look that he knows all too well.

"What? I didn't threaten anyone," He mumbles, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes, and then trying to find his lighter.

"You know what," Joyce retorts. "You didn't even _try_ to talk with her today. Nothing is ever going to get better if you don't even try."

"She didn't seem eager to talk to me either," Hopper says defensively.

"Yes, the fourteen year old with psychic powers looked unhappy, why even bother?" Joyce mocks. "You're supposed to be a grown man, Hop, not a teenager. If you really want to be her father, then you have to try."

"It's not as easy as it sounds," Hopper responds, trying to shore up his defenses.

"I've raised two boys since they were conceived, Hop, _that's_ not as easy as it sounds," Joyce tells him, tearing his makeshift defense apart. "You've been at this for a year and half; you didn't even have to go through teething, _or_ potty training."

"Trying to civilize a wild child isn't exactly normal parenting procedure, Joyce," Hopper shoots back, puffing on his cigarette. "Trying to get her to work like a girl without psychic powers is like pulling teeth."

"Maybe that's part of your problem, Hop," She retorts, taking the cigarette from his hand. "You want her to be the daughter you never got to have, but she isn't. I know it's hard to hear, but you can't expect El to be like Sara. She's her own person, with her own powers, and that's something you just have to accept."

She takes one long drag before putting the stick back in his stiff hand.

"You know where to find me when you want to talk," Joyce says, starting toward her car. Considering they only parked a few spaces apart, it's not a long walk.

"Joyce!" Hopper calls just as she opens the door. She turns back to look at him. "Thank you."

Joyce smiles at him, a perfect mom smile, because someone finally learned what she was trying to teach them.

"If you aren't doing anything for the rest of today..." Hopper continues, but trails off awkwardly.

Joyce's smile changes a bit. Always another lesson to teach.

"I have to replace the hinges on the back door, actually. They wake up the whole house if someone goes out at night," Joyce informs him. "You're welcome to help me with it, though."

"I do know my way around a screwdriver," He responds with a half-smirk.

XxX

"El, time to get up!" Steve calls into the apartment, opening the door a bit wider.

When he gets no response he walks inside, looking around for the girl in question. She'd asked specifically to be woken up early today so she can go out with the Party, but now he can't find her.

As it so happens, El is tangled in a mass of sheets and blankets in her room, seemingly dead to the world, even with the door wide open. Steve sighs and tries to gently shake her awake, to no avail.

"Your eggos are burning," Steve tells her with another, more pronounced sigh.

She bolts straight up, her long and tangled hair falling wildly around her head as she blindly makes a grab for nonexistent eggos. When she finally wakes up enough to realize, she glares at Steve.

"Not nice," She grumbles, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning to you too," Steve responds with a smile.

El just groans and starts extricating herself from the covers. When she stands up, her pajamas as disheveled as her hair, she groans again, putting a hand on her stomach. That catches Steve's attention immediately.

"Something wrong with your-?"

He gets no farther, El's eyes widening as she shoves past him, running to the bathroom. Steve is frozen for those few seconds after the disappears, until he hears her start throwing up.

With the ease of practice, Steve gathers her hair behind her head as she throws up. It doesn't take long for the relatively small girl to empty her stomach, but it's more than enough for Steve to be concerned. He rips off a few squares of toilet paper for El to wipe her mouth, and then lets go of her hair. Taking the cup she uses when she brushes her teeth, he hands her a glass of water to rinse the taste out of her mouth.

"Thank you," El croaks out, handing the glass back.

"You're welcome, now let's get you over to the couch," He says, helping her get to her feet. "Wait here while I find you a bucket."

He leaves her to grimace and hold her stomach, returning swiftly with a small garbage can.

"Thanks," El mumbles, taking it from him.

"I'll get you some more water," He responds, in full-on mother hen mode.

The cabinets are all but bare, only having a few of the essentials while El stays 'on her own'. There's two of everything, counted especially for when Mike comes over; two plates, two bowls, two glasses, two mugs, two sets of cutlery...

And one piece of plastic that falls out when he takes out a glass. He sets the glass down to pick it up, expecting some random little trinket Mike had given her.

Boy is he wrong.

"El?" He calls, his eyes going wider and wider the longer he stares, panic creeping into his voice. "What is this?"

The girl just groans from the couch, so he strides back over to get some answers. He holds the little piece of plastic up where she can see it, though her eyes are mostly closed to fall back asleep.

"Test..." She murmurs, burrowing deeper into the couch cushions.

"I see that," Steve responds. "But it's a _pregnancy_ test!"

El just groans again, as if it's no big deal.

"El!" He shouts, startling her back to awareness. "This test is _positive_! What the hell happened?!"

"What's with all the shouting this early in the morning?" Liz asks groggily from the doorway. "You guys are _way_ too active for a holiday."

"This is an emergency!" Steve retorts, waving the plastic stick at her.

"Gross, get that away from me," She says, walking around him to sit by El, stroking her hair back from her forehead. "You know she _peed_ on that, right?"

It only takes one more glance for Steve to put the stick down, but that doesn't do anything to help his mood.

"Do you not realize that this is a big deal?!" He demands. "Do you realize what _happened_? What this _means_? For _all_ of us?"

"Of course I know what happened, who do you think bought the test?" Liz answers easily. "Did you think Wheeler had the spine to buy a pregnancy test without the cashier laughing in his face?"

"You knew?!" The teen exclaims in disbelief.

"Who do think gave her the sex talk?" Liz replies with her signature smirk gracing her lips. "I was just surprised that Wheeler went along with it. I had half a mind to bet on him not lasting long enough to get his pants off."

Steve can only stand there in abject disbelief. Everything had been going so well, and now _this_ just had to happen. The only question now is if he can skip town and get a new identity before Hopper finds out. He could probably make a good used car salesman, and California is supposedly always sunny.

Then he sighs. That wouldn't work, he can't even afford to leave town, let alone make it all the way to California. What he needs to do is call Hopper, and Mike, to come over and talk about this.

And he should probably just call the ambulance now, so it's on standby for when Hopper murders him _and_ Mike.

Being an adult is hard...

XxX

Mike arrives first, and by the anxious look in his eye, he's already guessed what he got called here about.

"Didn't your dad have the talk with you yet?" Steve asks, just shaking his head. "Even if he didn't, shouldn't it just be common sense? If you're gonna do it, even though you guys are _way_ too young, wear a goddamn condom."

Mike doesn't even try to respond, just swallowing hard and looking down at his shoes. Steve just sighs.

"And then you went to _Liz_?" He continues. "Were you _that_ scared to come to me about this? I get not wanting to tell your parents, or Hopper, but as far as trusted people go, I think I should be at the top of the goddamn list."

Still Mike says nothing, just shifting uncomfortably.

"When," Steve says, not as a question.

"The sleepover..." Mike answers quietly. "On the last day of school.

"So then it's been-"

"Twenty three days, I know," Mike cuts in. "I've been counting."

"And when did you guys know?" The older boy follows up.

"Last week," The younger boy mumbles. "We double checked."

"Does anyone else know, or just the people in this building?"

"Is this an interrogation or something?" Mike snaps.

"I'm trying to help you, cause you're going to explain one way or another," Steve retorts, using supreme force of will not to shout back. "So you can either talk to me, and have an ally when Hopper gets here, or you can explain it all to him, and hope that he doesn't _shoot_ you."

Mike looks ready to start a shouting match, and Steve is almost convinced that the boy is going to, until he sighs, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I asked Nancy some questions," He admits, quietly though, his cheeks turning a little pink. "But I didn't tell her everything."

As if called by an unseen force, or rather just lucky timing after parking the car, Nancy enters the building just after he says that. She smiles at Steve as she walks over to them, completely unaware of why this gathering had been called.

"Hey Steve, how are you?" She greets with a smile. Steve manages a weak and unconvincing approximation of a smile, which Nancy sees through immediately. Her smile drops and her face turns serious. "Okay, what happened?"

Steve looks at Mike to answer, a silent challenge to come clean and tell the truth.

"El is, uh... is..." Mike mumbles, looking down at the ground. The rest of his words turn to inaudible nonsense.

"El is what?" Nancy asks, staring between Steve and her brother in confusion.

Mike murmurs the response yet again, which still does nothing to help Nancy understand what's going on.

"Mike, I can't help with whatever this is unless you tell me about it," She persists, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Pregnant!" Mike finally explodes. Nancy and Steve both take a half step backward in surprise. "El is pregnant!"

Before either of them can recover from the shock of that exclamation, Mike has already stormed off to the stairs. They exchange a glance before rushing after him, finally catching up to him as he and El exchange their normal greeting.

"Mike, what the _fuck_?!" Nancy demands as soon as they're in the same room. "You're not even in high school yet!"

"Nancy, maybe we should-" Steve starts, but gets no further.

"No! We're having this conversation _now_!" Nancy interrupts, not even turning to look at Steve as she holds up a silencing finger. "Mike, if you don't start talking in the next five seconds-"

"Hey, why don't you bring it down a few notches, m'kay?" Liz interjects from the kitchen, taking a bag of popcorn out of the microwave. "Already heard the whole spiel from Captain Fluff Head, and we're about to get it from Chief McGrump, so if you could spare us an extra one that would be great."

"I don't think that's the best-" Steve starts again.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Nancy demands, turning her full wrathful attention to Liz. "In case you hadn't noticed, he's my _brother_! I guess you never had to care about anyone else before, but _I_ do! So don't you tell _me_ what I should and shouldn't do when I find out that he got his girlfriend pregnant!"

The sound of a box hitting the floor shocks Nancy out of her tirade. She whips around to see Hopper standing in the doorway, his face frozen in shock, and a poorly wrapped gift on the floor by his feet. Nancy's anger drains away when she realizes that she just gave away the secret of the day.

And that she probably just signed her brother's death certificate.

Hopper's shock is quick to thaw, unbridled rage taking over every aspect of his face. Steve and Nancy both try to get between him and the kids, but he just shoves straight past them. It's not until he's about five feet away from the couch that he freezes in place. Even then, he's not totally frozen, visibly struggling against El's psychic restraints.

He opens his mouth to start yelling, but it closes just as quickly, and he can't seem to get it open again. El rises from the couch, a bead of blood running down from her nose, and she doesn't look happy in the slightest. Her left hand is tightly clasped in Mike's right, pulling him along with her. Her right hand is much more significant as she stands there, and it takes a few seconds for Hopper to realize that he should be _much_ more afraid right now.

 _SMACK_

Of all the things he expected her to do, slapping him in the face wasn't at the top of Hopper's list. The psychic force holding him in place disappears just after, but something else stops him from moving

"Friends don't lie," El says, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "But we're not friends, are we?"

It's like all the air is sucked out of the room, at least to Hopper. Of all gut punches he's ever gotten in his life, that one tops them all. No single phrase has ever caused him so much eviscerating pain as that one...

Then she starts laughing.

And then Mike starts laughing.

Within moments El, Mike, and Liz are all laughing their asses off, much to the confusion of the other half of the room. Liz even spills half of her popcorn, she laughs so hard, before she can put it on the counter. Mike finally has enough presence of mind to hand El a tissue for her nose, but it takes her a while to actually use it.

"You should have seen your face, Hop!" Liz cackles, holding the counter for support. "It was _priceless_!"

She manages to make it to the couch with Mike and El, pulling them both into a short group hug. Nobody else in the room has moved, still trying to piece together any semblance of what just happened. The first one to find their voice, incidentally, is the one who couldn't get a word in edgewise before.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" He asks in utter confusion, though it was probably meant to be a whole lot more forceful.

"Just a little something called _revenge_ ," Liz replies with her signature smirk, keeping an arm around her two protege. "And it all went according to plan, for the most part at least. We didn't plan on Nancy giving it away before Hop got in the door, but he still reacted exactly like we planned."

"Do you have _any_ idea what you just put me through?" Hopper demands, finally finding his voice again. "Any idea what that felt like from _my_ end?"

"Yes," El answers, her mirth evaporating, leaving only the cold, serious Eleven that she was raised to be. "I do."

Hopper's voice disappears as quickly as El's bright attitude.

"That was the whole point," Liz tells him, similarly serious. "I could have just shown you those memories for her, it wouldn't have been difficult, but I didn't. You know why?" She pauses, raising an eyebrow, daring him to speak again. "I _knew_ you couldn't take it. If you felt the way she felt, you would have put the shiny little barrel of that gun in your mouth and pulled the trigger."

Hopper remains silent, whether by choice or not.

"Instead, we put together this little act, to show you a _shred_ of what she felt," Liz continues. "So now I want you to imagine, take every emotion you just felt, and multiply it by ten. Then you're at least in the same ballpark."

Those words hang heavy in the air, slowly creeping back into the room.

"On a happier note, now you guys can make up," Liz informs him, before turning on her heel and going back to the popcorn she left on the counter.

The tension remains thick in the air despite her lighter tone, El looking expectantly at Hopper, and Hopper attempting to look anywhere else.

"Mike, maybe we should leave them alone for a few minutes," Nancy suggests, trying to break the silence before something explodes.

"No," El says shortly, keeping a firm grasp on Mike's hand.

Nancy shrinks back, not willing to risk El's wrath at this point. Hopper finally takes a deep breath, steeling his resolve and looking his daughter in the eye. He almost breaks when he sees the pain still reflected in them, but now isn't the time for him to back away.

"El, what I did isn't something I can ask you to forgive me for," He starts shakily. "You trusted me, and I betrayed that before it even started."

All of his instincts tell him to look away, but El's gaze never wavers, so neither does his. They're locked together until this is done.

"I could try to explain why I did it, but that would just be an excuse," He continues. "I never wanted to hurt you, but I did, and I can't undo it. I'm sorry."

El doesn't react at all for several long moments, and by the end of them Hopper would swear the whole room can hear his heartbeat. El finally nods, not saying a word, but sending a wave of relief through Hopper's body.

"Don't get too comfortable yet Chief, we've got one more thing on the list for today," Liz interjects, walking back with her popcorn. She just motions for Hopper to follow her as she leaves the room, not giving another word of explanation.

Hopper looks around at the other occupants of the room, but they all seem just as curious and confused as he is, even the two in cahoots with Liz.

"Let's go!" Liz shouts from the hallway, spurring Hopper into motion.

He catches up with her when she reaches her own apartment, entering when she silently holds the door open for him.

"Sit down," She orders, setting her bowl of popcorn down on her coffee table.

Rather than risk getting injured again, Hopper does as asked, though he doesn't seem particularly happy about it.

"Why am I here?" He finally asks as Liz gets a glass of water.

"Because I need to drive a point through that thick skull of yours," She answers, coming back and setting the glass down in front of him. "Since words haven't been doing the trick, I'm just going to show you."

"Woah, hold on a second here," Hopper interjects, putting his hands between them. "I don't want you going into my head again."

"I'm hurt chief, it sounds like you don't trust me," Liz comments sarcastically, sitting down in a chair. "This isn't up to you anymore, it's going to happen, so you can choose to do this the easy way or the hard way."

"What's this even about?" He questions, trying to stall.

"The fact that you still can't seem to trust Mike and El alone together," She tells him, as if it should be obvious. "You honestly believed that there was even the _possibility_ that they had sex and El was pregnant? You thought there was a _chance_ that Mike - king of the nerds, can barely talk to a girl - Wheeler managed to do the deed with El without having a fucking heart attack? He almost passed out when El asked him to help with this plan."

"No, we are not going through-" Hopper starts, but Liz cuts him off with a glare.

"Like I told you, this is happening, whether you're a willing participant or not," She says, in a tone that brooks no argument. "So it's up to you, are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

The smirk on Liz's face is just daring Hopper to choose the hard way, which the man seems to realize.

"Fine," Hopper grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Good, now you should try to relax," Liz advises. "If you're tense, this might hurt."

She gives him the full three seconds it takes for her to stand up and walk in front of him to relax, and then places her hands on his temples.

 _At first, everything is just dark, but not the suffocating kind. This darkness is warm, comforting even, like being under a blanket._

 _When the world turns to color, the first thing he sees is El, smiling and laughing like any other kid her age. There's almost no trace of the pain she's been through, just what she feels right then. She's happy._

 _The scene continuously shifts, still focused on El, but the location and time keeps changing. The apartment they'd just been in, the cabin, the woods outside during the winter, Mike's basement playing D &D, the Byers' living room, and even Hopper's trailer. It's like being there, seeing and experiencing everything, but without actually moving._

 _Everything shifts again, and now Mike becomes the focus of the scenes. If anything, the warm feeling just gets stronger, though it's hard to tell. Many of the scenes are the same, just from a different perspective. However, these ones continue longer, and they start to show Mike on his own, in school or at home. These ones feel different, less like an experience and more like a movie, something you can see but can't interact with._

 _It all changes again, this time showing both perspectives, one after the other, for each scene. It starts in the woods, rain pouring down around them, the only light coming from three flashlights. Then it's the basement again, and everything is warm. Neither of them know what to think, but they don't feel like they're in any danger around each other._

 _The scenes flash through, almost too fast to process. There's a pink dress and a wig, and a big recliner. Then everything is tinged by panic, white vans chasing after them. It all shifts again, and they're upset, but not really with each other._

 _There's a kiss, and the warm feeling spikes again, but it doesn't last long. Soon the darkness comes back, swallowing everything. It's suffocating, like drowning but without a drop of water in sight._

 _Then it comes back. It's in the Byers' house again, and they see each other. It's like coming back from the dead, nothing has ever felt so incredible. It quickly gets tinged by anxiety, the uncertainty of separation once again._

 _It's the Snowball, and their eyes lock together. If ever something could be called perfect, it's this._

 _More and more scenes flash by, of a supercom, a tiny eggo necklace, hiding under old bus seats, and even of a fight. Anger surges like a fire, exploding out of them, only to be quickly drowned in the sea of despair. When they reunite, it's like something has changed, something they can't explain, but wouldn't want to even if they could._

 _For as much dark that surges through these visions, the light always comes back to them, so long as they're together. There's something between them that they can't even begin to understand, but it doesn't scare them._

Hopper jerks back in his seat, a rush of nausea bursting through him, and a searing pain exploding through his head.

"Oh jesus!" Hopper exclaims, pressing his hands against the sides of his head.

"I told you to relax," Liz responds, going back to her chair with her popcorn. "Drink the water, it helps."

"You have any aspirin?" He questions through gritted teeth, picking up the glass.

"Can't advise taking pain killers for it, might cause bleeding," She informs him. "It should be gone in an hour or two."

Hopper just groans and down the water in a few big gulps. It eases some of the immediate pain, but it still isn't pleasant.

"What was that?" He finally asks, rubbing his temples.

"Memories," Liz answers plainly. "From Mike and El. Everything you just saw and felt is everything the two of them have since the day they met."

Of all answers Hopper had expected, that hadn't been one of them. For several minutes he can't find any words, trying to process what had just happened.

"Now you know, first hand, how they feel about each other," Liz says. "You can stop with the bullshit overprotective dad thing, it's not doing you any favors. Just let them be who they are."

Hopper nods slowly, not fully present anymore.

"And one more thing," Liz continues, getting up again. "They don't know that I was going to show you all of that, so if you ever bring this up, to anyone, ever, I _will_ cut your tongue out of your throat."

Again, Hopper nods, memories not his own flashing behind his eyes. Liz's glare softens when she sees his expression, wistfully thinking back to the first times she played through other people's memories on her own. It takes a little while to figure out which ones actually mean something, but once you do, they're the ones worth holding on to.

At least Hopper doesn't have to sort through them, he knows they all mean something very _very_ important.

* * *

So, I hope you enjoyed that nice little confrontation there. I'm sure many of you wish that I'd drawn it out longer, but I wanted to get the revenge plot done with. Over the next few chapters we'll get to see Hopper and El start to reconcile their little family.

On the subject of Liz, yes, she does care, at least a little bit. She's not going to let anyone know that, but she goes a bit beyond self interest.

If you haven't read Somewhere New yet, I totally recommend it (in my _totally_ unbiased opinion as the author of that story). It's finished now, so you won't have to hope, pray, and wish upon a star just to get an update. On the opposite side of things, if you have a prompt you wish to see (eventually) in my one-shot collection, definitely PM me about it!

I'll try not to disappear for five months again, but I really can't promise anything!

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3, summer break(start)

In Progress- 4th of July (posting), end of summer (writing)

To Do- something for the start of school

Until next time!


	11. Chapter 11: Fight of July

Welcome back readers!

Once again, it's been far too long since my last update, but what else is new? I was going to post this chapter earlier, but some parts of it just didn't quite sit right with me, so I took some extra time to edit (and was promptly swamped with work for another two months). As per usual, my writing time has been severely diminished, so my hopes of updating frequently are dashed once more, but we shall persevere!

I'm not usually one to ask for reviews, I write for my own enjoyment and that's enough, but I do like to get feedback about my plotlines and character development. It doesn't need to be long, but I do appreciate all the reviews that I receive.

Also, in anticipation of Season 3, I am incorporating some things from the trailers in my development (though not everything, this is still my own storyline). If there are things that seem very similar in the future, this is likely why, though I did have a lot planned that have some coincidental matchups.

Here it is, the next installment of Number Games!

* * *

"Alright, have fun you guys," Mrs. Byers says as the four kids pile out of the Blazer. "We'll pick you up from Mike's house tomorrow morning, but if anything happens, just call and we'll come get you."

"We know mom, Hopper already explained everything," Will responds with a cheeky grin.

"Twice," El adds at a whisper.

"What was that, young lady?" Hopper asks, coming around from the driver's side, fixing the girl and her boyfriend with a stern look.

"Nothing," She answers, though she still doesn't look at him.

That seems to be as much as Hopper expects, not pressing further.

"Remember, no powers while you're in public, unless someone's in danger," Hopper says instead. "That goes for _both_ of you."

He fixes his glare on Liz, who just rolls her eyes back at him.

"You're not my dad, Chief," She retorts, crossing her arms. "I don't answer to you."

"So long as you're around my daughter, yes, you do," Hopper responds, standing firm. "So you can either follow the rules, or leave my town."

Liz rolls her eyes again, turning and starting to walk away with a flippant wave of her hand. Hopper resist the urge to grumble under his breath, it would just undermine his current image.

"Just for once, can you not get into trouble?" He finally asks, fixing the two boys with his gaze, his daughter still not looking at him.

"Yes sir," They both say at once, though neither of them seem particularly threatened by him anymore.

This time he does grumble, something about cheeky little brats, but that's something only he could hear.

"Now go have fun," Joyce tells them. "And Will, take this."

Before the three can run, Joyce tucks something into her son's hand with a wink, and then shoos them away. The three don't hesitate, scurrying to catch up with Liz as she reaches the entrance to the park gate.

"What did your mom give you?" Mike asks once they stop, breathing harder than he would care to admit after the short jog.

Will holds up a twenty dollar bill with a huge grin, and then stuffs it into his pocket before Mike can try to snatch it.

"They sell snow cones and funnel cakes at the snack stand tonight," Will informs them. "They're my favorites."

"Oh, so you're buying then?" Mike retorts with a laugh.

"In your dreams, Mighty Mike," Will shoots back, which makes Mike's face turn bright red.

"Did you just say 'Mighty Mike'?" Liz questions, glancing back at them.

"That was the name Mike gave his paladin for one of our old campaigns," Will explains, doing a poor job of holding back his laughter. "We had Will the Wise, Dustin the Dwarf, Lucas the Lucky, and Mike the Mighty."

"That's good," Liz comments, nodding a bit to herself. "I'll remember that one..."

"Great, now I'm doomed," Mike mutters.

"I'll protect you," El chimes in, squeezing his hand and moving closer so she bumps into his arm.

Mike turns a slightly darker shade of red at that, which just makes El smile. Liz pretends not to notice them, and Will just keeps laughing at his friend. It's not until they pass. The poor boy is only spared when they reach the open field of the park, with a couple little league baseball fields off on the right and the playground off to their left with the snack stand. There are dozens and dozens of picnic blankets and lawn chairs set up all over the field, with adults lounging about having claimed their spots, and children running around playing and laughing. There's police barricades at the far end of the field with tape between them to keep the general public away from the fireworks setup, and there are two fire trucks in attendance, one in the parking lot and one at the end of the street that runs past the park, which will be closed for the night.

"They brought _both_ of the fire trucks?" Will observes sarcastically when he looks at the street. "They must be expecting a big fire."

"There's gonna be a fire?" El questions apprehensively. Nobody had mentioned an actual fire in the planning for this outing.

"No, there isn't," Mike quickly assures her. "Will's just trying to be funny. Hawkins only has two fire trucks that we know of, and they're both here tonight."

El nods, and then laughs a little at Will's joke. Will just sighs, looking off into the sea of people for their friends.

"Found them," Mike says, grabbing their attention. He starts off into the crowd, weaving around people, chairs, and blankets with expert precision. It's a necessary skill for nerds, since nobody ever thinks to get out of their way in the hallway, they just plow straight through them.

Naturally, El sticks to his side like glue, leaving Will and Liz to keep up. They almost trample over a few fingers and come very close to bowling over a group of kids sprinting across their path, but they manage to arrive safely at the Wheeler's portion of the field. The two adjacent portions belong to the Sinclair's and Mrs. Henderson respectively.

Their friends, sprawled out on Mrs. Henderson's picnic blanket, scramble to their feet at their appearance. Holly and Erica are playing with their dolls on the Wheeler's blanket while Ted 'watches' them, which must be hard while taking a nap. The other adults are chatting on the Sinclair's blanket for the time being.

"We were getting worried about you guys," Mrs. Wheeler comments, getting up to give her son an embarrassing hug. "When Nancy told me that you'd be coming with Will and Jane, I thought you'd be here before us."

"Hopper had a lot to say before we could leave," Will explains before Mike can say anything. He probably would have said the same thing, but Mrs. Wheeler can't ground Will for not respecting the police chief.

"Well, then I guess you kids are going to go do your own thing?" Mrs. Wheeler questions, getting three very enthusiastic nods from the kids in front of her.

"We need to claim the swings before they get overrun," Dustin interjects, determined to prove that he can swing the highest in the party.

"Oh, well, if you're going to the playground," Mrs. Wheeler continues. "Then you can take Holly and Erica with you."

Mike can't help the groan that comes out of him at the suggestion, getting an annoyed look from his mother.

"Do we have to?" Mike complains, as if it will do any good. "Can't they just stay and play with their toys here?"

"You can either take them with you, or no allowance this week," His mother retorts with a smile. She'd purposefully waited to give her son his allowance in case she needed adequate leverage.

Mike groans again, but a gentle squeeze from his girlfriend stops him from trying to argue about it.

"Fine, we can babysit," He grumbles.

"That's better," Mrs. Wheeler says, and then reaches down to grab her purse. She hands her son his allowance with a smile, and then sits back down.

The excitement in the party is more subdued now, but they can still make the best of this. Plus, it's really only Mike that has to babysit.

"It's about time," Erica comments, getting up and adjusting her dress. "I wanted to go the playground an _hour_ ago."

"Well, we're going now," Mike tells her as if he enjoys babysitting. "Come on Holly, time for the playground."

He holds his hand out for his little sister, who scrambles to take it. She jumps up and down next to him, and as much as Mike wants to tell her no, he lets go of El's hand and picks Holly up.

"Thanks Mikey," She says sweetly.

El giggles at them as they start to walk, keeping close enough to Mike to keep bumping into each other even if they can't hold hands. On their walk over, they spy Troy and his band of mouthbreathers, but choose to ignore them. If he knows what's good for him, he won't cause any trouble tonight.

"So are you Mikey's girlfriend?" Holly asks as they walk.

El blushes, but still smiles at the five year old.

"I like to think so," She says. "It would be really awkward if I wasn't, since he's my boyfriend and all."

Mike can't help but smile. That's probably the most words El has ever spoken at once to someone she doesn't know really well.

"Are you guys going to get married?" Holly questions innocently, which El doesn't quite know how to respond to. Thankfully, Mike sees her smile falter a bit and leaps in to save her.

"That's a little far in the future, Holly," He says. "Let's focus on what we're doing now, like the playground!"

He says that just as they reach the playground, filled with excited children climbing and sliding over everything, with several dozen parents chaperoning as they have their own conversations.

"See ya," Erica says right away, running off to find her friends.

"Be careful!" Lucas yells after her, knowing he'll be the one getting blamed if his sister gets hurt.

"Don't worry about her, the swings are open!" Dustin exclaims, starting off at a run toward the swingsets.

When the rest of the party, walking more slowly, reaches the swings, they're still just as open as before. They do run into a problem though, there are six regular swings, and seven of them, eight with Holly.

"Can I go on the big kid swings this time?" Holly asks, giving Mike her best puppy dog eyes. Ever the nice older brother, Mike concedes, setting his sister down on one of the regular swings. Her feet come nowhere close to the ground, which probably means she should be in a child swing, but it's too late now.

"Ok, now hold on tight," He tells her, moving behind her. With a gentle shove, Holly starts to swing, not going too far either way, but it's enough for her. "Try pumping your legs with the swing, you'll go higher."

She giggles as she does what Mike says, taking a few tries to get her rhythm right, and then screams in delight when she starts to go higher than before.

"I'm doing it Mikey, I'm doing it!" She exclaims, a big grin on her face.

"You're doing great, Holly, that's perfect!" He calls back to her.

El watches this whole exchange from the next swing over, content to just sit for the moment. Liz hadn't wanted a swing, leaning on the support bar between El and Will. Seeing Mike interact with his little sister is a lot like seeing him interact with El. He has an endless supply of patience, even if he didn't really want to babysit, just like when El asks him a question he doesn't really want to answer, but does anyway because it's her.

"Waiting for your turn to have Mike push you?" Liz questions, jolting El out of her lull. "Hate to break it to you, but usually baby sister has precedence over girlfriend. You might want to try teaching yourself."

"I can wait," El replies. "I like when Mike explains things."

"Oh, don't tell _him_ that," Liz responds. "He'll be insufferable, explaining _everything_. You'll get enough of that from literally every other man on the planet, don't encourage it in your boyfriend."

"It's different with Mike," El insists. "Mike is special."

Liz opens her mouth to retort, but is interrupted by a less than joyous cry from Holly as the girl flies off the seat of the swing. El sees everything in slow motion as Mike dives forward, under the swing. It's not even a conscious action to make Holly fall straight down instead of forward, right into Mike's spaghetti arms.

Everything goes back to normal once Holly is on the ground. A few concerned parents move a little closer, but there isn't any crying. Mike just sits up slowly, his little sister on his lap, a big grin on her face.

"Can we do that again?" She asks.

"No, we are not doing that again," Mike tells her, not even looking at her attempt to pout at him.

If Mike hadn't been wearing a long-sleeved shirt, he probably would have gotten quite a few cuts and splinters, but luckily he's fine.

"I don't know how you can stand wearing jeans _and_ a long sleeved shirt in the middle of the summer, but it came in handy this time," Dustin comments.

Mike grimaces at his friend, not responding to the statement as he gets up.

"Alright Holly, I think that's enough swings for now, why don't you find Erica to play with for a little while?" Mike suggests, setting his sister on her feet.

"Ok," She says, immediately turning and starting to run away

"Just don't leave the playground!" Mike shouts after her, and then sighs, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Don't give up yet, lover boy, your girlfriend still wants her turn," Liz informs him, sitting down on the open swing, lazily moving back and forth.

Mike's attention switches back to El, as if it had never left in the first place. Within minutes he's explained the mechanics of using the swing, somehow resisting the urge to delve into the world of physics and angular momentum.

"Just push her already," Liz finally snaps after listening to the effects of pumping your legs on momentum for the third time.

Mike turns red when he realizes he'd been over-explaining everything again. With a short cough to hide some of his embarrassment, he gives El a gentle shove, starting her back and forth.

Just like with Holly, it takes El a few passes to time pumping her legs correctly, but once she gets it, she goes higher than Mike was capable of pushing her.

"It's like flying!" She exclaims excitedly, a giant grin on her face as Mike comes around so she can see him.

"Amazing," Mike responds, much more quietly, letting his matching grin do most of the talking.

"Careful lover boy, you're getting heart eyes again," Liz points out, turning Mike a nice shade of scarlet again.

"Don't you have anything better to do than make fun of me?" Mike asks, giving her a sidelong scowl.

"Not until these fireworks start, but I'll take suggestions," Liz responds with her signature smirk. Mike just shakes his head and turns back to El, probably not even noticing the corners of his mouth turning up.

"Mikey!"

Mike's attention is immediately ripped toward the rest of the playground, at Holly and Erica running towards them. A flash of panic runs through his veins, trying to figure out what could have possible gone wrong. He doesn't see any blood, so that's a good sign.

"Mikey, we need to go potty," Holly says, running up and latching onto her brother's leg.

Mike's panic goes down immensely, breathing a massive sigh of relief. Then he seems to get an idea.

"Since you're not doing anything, could you take Holly and Erica to the ladies' room?" Mike suggests, turning to look at Liz again.

"Why, can't handle a bathroom break on your own?" Liz questions. "Or afraid they'll fall in?"

"Very funny," Mike retorts, rolling his eyes. "I'd rather not have them going to the bathroom alone when it's this busy, and I can't go in the ladies' room."

"Very astute observation, must have taken you a while to figure that one out," Liz replies, but stands up all the same. "Max, El, come on, bathroom!"

"Why, can't handle a bathroom break on your own?" Mike says, getting an icy glare from Liz.

"It's a girl thing, you wouldn't understand," Liz tells him as Max and El gradually come to a stop on the swings. "Alright girls, let's go."

El and Max hurry to catch up as Liz starts toward the bathrooms with Holly and Erica. It's a little funny to watch the older girl interact with small children, mainly because she has a smile on her face that doesn't scream that she's playing a prank on you. The boys had learned to distinguish the two rather quickly.

"Do you think we'll see them alive again?" Lucas questions, coming up alongside his fellow older brother.

"I hope so, my allowance depends on it," Mike responds as they lose sight of the girls in the crowd.

"Guys, trouble at two o'clock," Dustin warns, drawing their attention to the second entrance to the playground. Troy, James, and their band of friends are coming in, shouting and shoving like a bunch of monkeys. Parents shoot them disapproving glances, but nobody says anything to them.

"Escape plan delta?" Will asks, still sitting on the swing.

"Affirmative," Mike and Lucas say at the same time.

The boys immediately make a beeline for the playground entrance they'd come in through. It's not a terribly large playground, so they don't have to go very far, but it's far enough for their plan to go wrong.

"We've been spotted!" Dustin hisses, glancing over his shoulder, seeing the group now coming toward them with a bad glint in their eyes. "Evasive maneuvers!"

That amounts to the four boys breaking into a run, attempting to reach the crowd before they get beat up. With the head start they have on the other boys, it should be no contest, even with the low physical capacity they all share.

That is, until Mike trips on a divet he couldn't see and turns his ankle. He falls with a cry of pain, trying to brace his fall and grab his ankle at the same time.

"Mike!" Will yells, running back to his friend, panic in his eyes as the other group of boys closes in on them.

"Well look what we've got here boys, frog face and fairy boy," Troy teases, his run turning into a saunter as he reaches them. "Where's your girlfriend, Wheeler? Did she dump you for fucking fairy boy?"

"Leave us alone Troy," Mike mutters through his teeth, still clutching his ankle.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your life than harass us?" Lucas demands, coming up behind his friends, Dustin beside him.

"Oh look, Midnight's standing up for the fairies," James interjects, all of his friends laughing. Lucas' hands ball into fists, but he manages to stop himself from starting a fight with a group twice their size.

"Something you want to say, Midnight?" Troy asks, a smug grin on his face.

"Eat a dick, Troy," Mike tells him before Lucas has the chance to say anything. Standing with difficulty, Mike takes a painful step toward their childhood bully.

"What did you just say to me?" Troy demands, getting directly in Mike's face.

"Spoke too soon, smells like you already did," Mike replies, not backing down. "Now why don't you go away, leave us alone, and never come back?"

If anyone else was looking, they could see Troy's anger visibly rise, his face turning a progressively darker shade of red. They could also see Troy drive his fist into Mike's face and send the boy sprawling on the ground, a gush of red pouring down from his nose.

"That's what you get when you don't watch your mouth, frog face," Troy growls, looking ready to keep going.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Will demands, already next to his downed friend, trying to figure out what to do.

"You want some too, fairy freak?!" Troy shouts, starting toward the other boy.

"Alright, that's enough."

Troy barely has time to register the words before a fist drives into his stomach, and he gets shoved to the ground. Standing above him, a cold glare in her eyes, is Liz. She turns that glare on the rest of Troy's group, and James takes an involuntary step backward.

"I'll make this clear once, and only once," She says, her eyes slowly moving over all of them. "These are _my_ nerds. If you want to mess with them, then you go through _me_. Understand?"

None of the boys say anything, all fixed in place by the fury in Liz's eyes. Troy manages to slowly sit up, so Liz takes the chance to haul him to his feet by the front of his shirt. She makes him look her in the eyes, and the smell of urine starts to emanate from him.

" _Understand_?" She repeats shortly.

Troy manages to nod, his tongue fumbling over words until Liz unceremoniously shoves him back onto his ass.

"Good, then beat it," She orders, turning back toward Mike.

She doesn't bother to look as the boys all start to run away, Troy scrambling to his feet and sprinting to catch up. By this time, the boys have Mike sitting up, pinching his nose.

"Come on, let's get you to the bathroom," Liz says, the razor edge she'd had before softening. "You can't go back to your parents covered in blood."

Mike just groans, his nose and eyes already starting to swell up.

"What happened to your bathroom trip?" Dustin questions, supporting one side of his friend, Lucas on the other. Will runs ahead to try to get some ice from the snack stand.

"Max and El can handle it just fine," Liz answers. "I saw the monkeys going in and had a bad feeling."

"Aww, you _do_ care about us," Dustin says, a grin breaking his face, until Liz punches him in the arm.

"Don't push your luck," She warns.

Dustin nods, not wanting to incur her wrath after what they just saw.

"Still, thanks," He continues after a few more seconds. "People don't normally stick up for us."

"Don't worry about it," Liz brushes off.

"No, seriously," Lucas interjects from the other side. "Those moves were amazing, but that wasn't the part we need to thank you for. Normally people just look the other way when Troy is pulling something with us."

"Thankth," Mike manages to groan out around the dried blood on his face.

The boys manage to maneuver their friend into the bathroom and help him get the blood off of his face. His eyes aren't totally swollen, but he has black eye kind of bruises under each one. His nose is definitely swollen, almost twice its normal size, and his upper lip has a slightly smaller swell. Thankfully the flow of blood has stopped, though when Mike sneezes, the sink looks like a murder happened in it.

With bits of paper towel stuffed in his nose just in case, they get Mike back outside, where all of their friends are waiting for them.

"Mike!" El exclaims, rushing forward.

Dustin backs off, having been supporting Mike's good side. El isn't quite sure what to do, and seems scared to touch anywhere.

"I'll be fine, El, you don't need to worry," He says, his words coming out as if he has a lisp. "I just need to sit down."

"And use this," Will says, offering Mike one of the two bags of ice he's holding.

"Why'd you get two?" Max asks, trying to keep Holly and Erica from running away.

"He turned his ankle when we were running from Troy, so we should ice it when we sit down," Will answers.

"But I want to go back to the playground!" Erica complains.

"The fireworks are gonna be starting really soon, Erica, so we should go back to our blankets and get ready for them," Lucas says, trying not to snap at his little sister in public.

He isn't wrong, the sun is starting to dip below the horizon, and it won't be more than half an hour until its dark enough for the fireworks to start shooting.

Despite Erica's insistent protests, the party goes back to the blankets, finding that Nancy and Jonathan have joined the group since the party left. Nancy is the first to notice their group approaching, and then her eyes lock onto her brother.

"Mike!" She exclaims, scrambling to her feet and drawing all the adults' attention to the battered boy.

She helps El get Mike onto the blanket, and helps her brother sit down before starting her flood of questions, their mother quickly joining them. Will puts the other bag of ice on Mike's ankle, which is already a bit swollen.

"What happened? Who did this?" Nancy starts, checking her brother over for other injuries. "Weren't you just on the playground?"

Mike groans at all the questions, taking the ice away from his face.

"Troy was being an asshole, like always," He manages to say.

"Language," Ted interjects, stirring from his nap.

"Troy? That boy from school?" Mrs. Wheeler questions.

"Yep, that's the one," Dustin answers. "We tried running away, but Mike turned his ankle on a hole."

"You should have seen him though," Lucas adds. "He was giving it right back to Troy, until he got punched at least."

"Thanks guys," Mike mutters around the ice.

"But then Liz came and just _destroyed_ him!" Dustin continues. "There were ten of them and they were all _terrified_! Troy even peed himself!"

"Well, at least someone knew how to put them in their place," Ted comments under his breath, though loudly enough for people to hear.

His wife shoots him a disapproving glance, but quickly turns back to her son.

"How's your head feeling?" She asks, kneeling next to him in the remaining space that El and Nancy haven't taken. "I have some aspirin if you need it."

She doesn't quite know what else to do, he already has ice, the bleeding has stopped, and he has as much emotional support as he can possibly get. Mike, for his part, nods to the aspirin rather than speaking.

Soon enough he's taken the pain killers, and the sun is almost entirely below the horizon. With the initial Mike frenzy over with, the other adults get around to fussing over their own children. Mrs. Henderson checks her son for injuries three times before he can calm her down.

Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair manage to convince Erica to stop complaining about going back to the playground, promising that she can have friends over later in the week. Jonathan, thankfully, only needs a brief check-in with Will to ask if he's alright before going back to his seat.

Even Holly is determined to check her brother over before she can sit down again, putting a princess bandaid on her big brother's hand. It doesn't really help with any of his injuries, but it makes him smile.

The kids settle in to wait for the fireworks, making sure Mike stays sitting up the whole time. El checks every two minutes that Mike is doing okay, asking if he needs anything, or if there's anything she can do. To the adults it seems adorable, though Mike understands her genuine concern, somehow feeling it himself even though he isn't overly concerned with his injuries.

It's not until the fireworks start that either of them manage to focus on something else. El almost jumps out of her skin when the first one goes off, her eyes darting around crazily, trying to find a nonexistent attacker. Mike gently takes her hand, trying to give her a reassuring look through his swollen face.

"Don't worry, you're safe with me," He whispers, his voice all but inaudible past the stream of fireworks.

El still manages to hear him, the panic slowly fading from her eyes. She takes a deep breath, and then shifts closer to her boyfriend, leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Safe with Mike," She murmurs as the colorful flashes illuminate the sky all colors of the rainbow, in patterns and sequences that mesmerize her the longer she looks. Right here, right now, she's just like every other child.

* * *

That's a wrap on the 4 of July!

This chapter was pretty much all fluff, but I needed it to set up some stuff for the future. It brought down the tensions from the last chapter, gave us some nice older brother Mike moments, and showed Mike stand up to Troy, even if he got a broken nose out of it. This also brings us closer to the final arc of what I've been calling the pre-story, and then we _really_ get into what this story was meant to be about.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3, summer break(start), 4th of July

In Progress- end of summer

To Do- something for the start of school

Until next time!


	12. Chapter 12: Sometimes, Life's a Beach

Greetings and Salutations!

I didn't completely disappear off the face of the earth this time! How could I, when season three is just hours away? In anticipation of the third season (and seeing everything I planned out be proven wrong), I wanted to post this chapter and give everyone some nice fluff before seeing what new terrors our children have to deal with.

I shall cut the ado short this time, so here we go...

* * *

"It's never going to work," Lucas says for the seventeenth time in twenty minutes.

"It'll work, we just have to believe," Dustin retorts, realigning the papers in his folder for the eighteenth time.

"Well, they're coming in, so it better be ready," Max intercedes, long since done with hearing them argue.

"Does Hopper look like he's in a good mood?" Mike questions, rushing in from the kitchen with the last bowl of snacks.

"Does he ever?" Max responds, which Mike can't really argue with.

Two minutes later there's a knock at the door. Everyone makes their last second scramble to look natural, and then Mike opens it, ushering everyone inside. Will and El are the first ones in, both of them barely containing their anticipation, followed by Mrs. Byers, who seems curious about the setup, and Hopper, who looks just as surly as he always does.

"Why did we have to come here?" Hopper asks, sitting down heavily on the couch next to Joyce.

"Well, I'm glad you asked," Dustin starts, standing up with his bundle of papers. "We have a proposal, which requires almost no effort on your parts to plan."

"Seeing as the summer is quickly coming to a close," Lucas picks up, getting up off the chair he was sitting on. "We believe that it would be a greatly beneficial experience for El, and for all of us collectively, to go on a camping trip together."

"Now, we've prepared these for you to look through," Dustin says, handing out two manilla folders he'd been holding. Each one is brimming with papers.

"You'll find the table of contents in the beginning, with page numbers," Mike continues, stepping forward. "We've done all the necessary research to put this outing together, so you'll find maps of the campground and surrounding area, a tentative itinerary, which we can edit as necessary, simple camp meals and costs, travel directions, and all possible places for pit stops along the way."

"Educational and life-experience benefits can be found in chapter three," Max chimes in. "And the final budget is on the last page."

Joyce actually looks impressed by their efforts, scanning over the pages, written in the neatest handwriting they'd been capable of. Hopper, on the other hand, still looks someone had taken his parking spot and then eaten his morning donut.

Dustin nervously shuffles the rest of his papers, all the additional arguments he'd come up with just in case their proposal wasn't enough. El and Will, for their part, don't say anything, putting great efforts into keeping their lips pressed shut, which doesn't go unnoticed by their more perceptive friends.

"Well, it would be a big trip to take," Mrs. Byers starts, closing her folder. "And we would need to take off of work for this."

Hopper actually scoffs at the idea, dreading to imagine how the station would get on without him. Flo is good, but sometimes Hopper just needs to get a good tirade going for everything to fall into place.

"I'm not sure we'll have that kind of time to take off," Hopper comments, setting his folder down on the table.

There's a profound disappointment that settles on the presenters, their entire great plan falling to pieces.

"They said yes!" El exclaims, unable to keep it in any longer. "We get to go camping together!"

Hopper sighs, pulling out his wallet and handing a dollar to Mrs. Byers.

"What's going on?" Lucas questions, not sure how to process everything that just happened in front of him.

"We were going to ask you kids if you wanted to go on a trip together to round out the summer," Mrs. Byers explains. "Which we mentioned over lunch today, so Will and El spilled the beans."

"And they were _supposed_ to keep their mouths shut so we could have our own fun," Hopper adds, putting his wallet away. "We had a bet going. I thought Will would spill it first, but I was wrong."

Will, to his credit, looks slightly offended, but can't keep the grin from his face.

"This is all very impressive though," Joyce tells them, holding up her manilla folder. "You guys must have been working on this for a long time."

They all have a brief flashback to when Lucas had suggested the idea, and all the meetings they'd had after that to do research and planning. Each of them shudders, all glad that they won't have to go through that again.

"We should invite the older kids too," Joyce continues, seeing that all the plans were just for the six kids in the room, plus two adults. "I'm sure they'd all love to get away for a weekend."

Nobody seems to have a problem with this, aside from Hopper's internal groan at the thought of having to chaperone _more_ people.

"Well, if I'm invited, then I'm calling shotgun now," Liz calls into the apartment as she walks by, holding a tool box in one hand.

"I can drive!" Steve adds, following behind her with some planks of wood.

This time Hopper groans out loud, which makes all the kids laugh.

XxX

"Thanks so much again for taking them," Mrs. Wheeler says as the kids bring their stuff up from the basement, having all slept over the night before. "And if there are any problems, or anything you need, just call and let us know."

"It's not a problem, Karen," Joyce assures her, watching the rock-paper-scissors game that starts to determine who goes in which car. She and Hopper are going on their own so Hopper can have some peace and quiet before the weekend starts, so it's up to Steve and Jonathan to drive the rest of the crew there.

By the time everything is loaded up, with every excess item stowed in the back of the Blazer, the kids have finally decided on cars. Dustin and Mike tune their supercoms to the same channel so the two cars can communicate.

Steve and Liz, now claiming the title of 'Millenium Falcon' thanks to Dustin, has Dustin, Lucas, and Max in the backseat. Jonathan and Nancy get to have Mike, El, and Will for their journey.

"They already claimed the Falcon, what should we go with?" Mike asks, he and Will both trying to figure one out.

"Why do we need a car name?" Nancy questions as the cars start to pull away from the Wheeler's house.

"It's a code name," Will answers. "For when we talk over the supercoms."

"What about that other space thing?" El suggests. "The one with the shirts."

"You mean Star Trek?" Will inquires, to which El nods.

"El, that's brilliant!" Mike exclaims, planting a congratulatory kiss on her cheek since Hopper isn't around to complain. He then lifts the supercom near his mouth and presses the button. "Millenium Falcon, come in, this is the USS Enterprise."

Mike can only imagine the look on Dustin's face when he realizes that he's been bested, and Mike can imagine very well.

"This is the Millenium Falcon, we read you," Dustin's defeated voice crackles through the speaker, victory washing through Mike's veins.

"We just wanted to let you know," Mike says with a grin, which Will matches and El doesn't understand but grins anyway. "That it's time for us to boldly go, where no man has gone before."

With that he and Will erupt into laughter, picturing Dustin and Lucas groaning in defeat. For her part, El smiles, but doesn't know enough Star Trek to really join in.

The car ride, about three hours, includes Jonathan's personal selection of rock music, the kids playing various road trip games so El gets the full experience, and not one, but two bathroom breaks. The first for El and Will about halfway there, and the second half an hour later for Dustin, who "absolutely, positively, did _not_ need to use the bathroom during the first pit stop".

By the end, Mike and Will have exhausted every rendition of twenty questions, I spy, the license plate game, the alphabet game, rock-paper-scissors, and never have I ever. El, never having played most of those games before, had a lot of fun.

"What campsite is it again?" Jonathan asks as he turns off the main road and into the campground.

"D03." Mike answers, pulling his sheet of information out of his backpack.

"Enterprise, this is Falcon, do you copy?" Dustin's voice crackles.

"This is Enterprise, we copy," Mike responds.

"Hopper got the parking tags already, so you don't need to stop by the office, over," Dustin tells them.

"Roger that, over and out," Mike replies. "Did you get that?"

"Yep," Jonathan sighs, very ready to be out of the car and away from the road trip games he's been listening to for three straight hours.

When they get the the parking lot they can see Hopper and Joyce waiting by the Blazer, and Steve just pulling into a parking spot. As soon as the engine cuts out, everyone rushes out of the car like it's a sinking ship.

"Sweet freedom!" Dustin exclaims, raising his arms in victory.

His victory is short lived when a duffle bag hits him in the chest.

"Celebrate once everything is set up," Steve tells him, giving out the rest of the stuff that was in his trunk. Jonathan does the same thing, and then Hopper waves everyone over to unload the blazer.

"Nobody gets to run off until camp is set up," He announces, taking the tents out first and giving one to each pair.

The Wheelers had managed to find two tents in the attic that hadn't been used since Mike stopped being a cub scout, each big enough for two people, so Mike and Nancy each claimed one. Lucas had found an older one that his dad had used in the 60s, Jonathan had a similarly old one that he and Will sometimes used before building Castle Byers, and Hopper dusted off two of his old single-person survival-style tents. El and Max have the luxury of a new tent that Hopper had purchased as soon as El even jokingly suggested that if she and Mike snuggle really close then his tent could fit three people.

The four boys, having been cub scouts together, manage to get their tents up relatively quickly, though it took them longer that they'll admit to put the rain flys on correctly. Jonathan takes a bit longer, Steve cluelessly trying to assist with no knowledge of how tents work. Liz is done before Nancy can even offer to help, setting up a hammock with the extra time to watch everyone else struggle.

It takes Hopper a few tries to remember how his old tents work, but he sets up both of them for himself and Joyce. Joyce recruits Nancy to start setting up the propane stove and folding tables that Hopper had brought.

Neither Max nor El have ever set up a tent before, so their progress is slow going. Max manages to get the two main support poles through it, so it stands up, but can't figure out which way the rain fly is supposed to go on.

"The tent is a square! Why is this not also a square?!" Max demands, throwing the rain fly on the ground before she starts tearing it apart. "And why is there a tiny pole in here too?!"

"We could ask for help," El suggests, picking up the smaller pole and unfolding it.

"What, and give the boys that much satisfaction?" Max retorts. "I'd rather break my board."

"What about Liz?" El supplies, gesturing to the older girl lounging in the hammock with a devious grin.

"You ask then, if you really want to," Max growls, picking up the rain fly again.

El quietly sets down the extra pole and walks over to Liz, who turns her grin upon the younger girl.

"Need something?" She asks, a glint in her eye.

"We can't figure out the rain thing," El tells her. "Can you help us?"

Liz actually chuckles a little, and then glances over at where Hopper and the boys are unloading more stuff.

"Put the exclamation points on opposite sides, clip down the corners, and then stake the parts that extend out," She explains. "But I want you to do it with your telekinesis, not your hands."

"Hopper said-"

"Don't worry about Hopper, leave that to me," Liz shushes her fellow psychic. "Just do it, you know you can."

El casts a worried glance over at the Blazer, but then nods. She goes back over to the unfinished tent and takes the rain fly from Max. In seconds it unfurls and stretches over the tent, El making sure to put the exclamation points opposite each other. The clips put themselves together, and two stakes drive into the ground through the outer ends of the fly.

Had Hopper, or anyone else, looked over at that point, they would have seen El and Max putting the fly on together. They may also have seen Liz wipe a drop of blood away from her nose, but they wouldn't see El doing the same.

By this time, the boys have gotten all of the supplies out of the Blazer, and Joyce and Nancy have set up the kitchen area for the weekend. The sun is high in the sky above them, beating heat down upon them.

"I think the beach is a great place to start this weekend," Steve suggests, eyeing the nearby lake from under the shade of his hand.

His suggestion goes over quite well with the rest of the group, Dustin and Will darting off to get changed first. El seems a bit nervous as everyone goes to get ready, which Mike senses from beside her.

"What's wrong?" He asks, squeezing her hand.

"I...I can't swim," She tells him. "And bathing suits are weird."

Mike nods, and then turns a little pink when he realizes he was picturing El in a bathing suit.

"Well then I can teach you," He offers with an awkward smile. "And if you don't like it we can always build sandcastles or something on the beach."

"Sandcastles?" She questions, which only makes his smile wider.

"You'll see," He assures her. "Will goes all out on his sandcastles."

She nods, managing a small, if still apprehensive, smile. Once Mike sees that Will is out of their tent, and Hopper isn't looking, he kisses El on the cheek and then goes to change, fingering his sleeves nervously.

El draws in a sharp breath when she realizes that Mike can't wear long sleeves when he goes swimming, which means someone might see...

The composes herself again before any can notice, but that doesn't make her any less nervous, just about Mike now rather than herself. She almost jumps out of her skin when Max taps her on the shoulder, now wearing a two piece yellow bathing suit with blue polka dots.

"You okay?" The girl asks, raising an eyebrow while El catches her breath.

"Yeah, fine," She manages to say, and then notices her friend's bathing suit. "That looks nice on you."

"Oh, this?" Max responds, immediately flustered. "It's nothing spectacular, just a stupid joke really."

"Joke?" El questions.

"My dad got it for me back in California," She explains. "He loved that song from the sixties, itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini, so he got me a less teenie weenie version."

El nods again, making a mental note to find that song so she knows what Max is talking about. Once Max has a chance to fight off her pink tint, she walks toward the kitchen area to wait, and El goes to change.

She stares at her bathing suit for a full minute. She'd intentionally chosen a two piece so it would be different from the bath, but that also means having to leave parts of herself exposed to the world. The bottom comes up to her belly button when she actually has it on, and the top is more of a short tank top than what the models on the posters wore.

El takes a deep breath, trying to put herself in perspective. They're the only ones in this section of the campground right now, and her friends won't suddenly hate her for her choice of bathing suit, though Hopper may not approve of a two piece.

Plus, if Mike is willing to risk letting someone see his scar, she can survive her own choice of bathing suit for an afternoon.

When she exits her tent, everyone else is busy putting on sunscreen, but her gaze locks onto Mike the second she sees him. He's not wearing a shirt, revealing his incredibly pale skin, which he seems to be applying an entire bottle of sunscreen to, including a bit on his left arm that doesn't seem to be rubbed in.

"Careful with the ogling, little sis," Liz tells her, startling her back to reality and handing her a bottle of sunscreen. "If Hopper catches either of you staring he'll blow a fuse again."

El nods, her gaze switching to the bottle in her hand. She's never had to use sunscreen before.

"You really are hopeless without your boy toy," Liz says, taking the bottle back. She squeezes a little bit onto El's hand, and then some onto her own. "Rub that into your other arm, as much of it as you can cover. And hold still while I get your back for you."

El does as asked, jumping a little when the unexpectedly cold sunscreen touches her back. Liz put a hand on her shoulder to keep her still, finishing as quickly as she can, and then putting some more sunscreen in El's other hand.

"Now just do that until you have sunscreen everywhere that isn't covered by your bathing suit," She instructs, watching El squeeze out some more just to be sure. "You'll be thankful when you don't burn."

It takes El another few minutes to finish and join her friends, at which point she notices that they're all wearing different shoes.

"El, sweetie," Joyce says, tapping her on the shoulder. "I know we didn't get you any when we went shopping, so I got you these last time I was at the store."

She hands a pair of pink flip flops to El, with sparkly little plastic gems on the tops. For her part, El is speechless, not that she usually says a lot in the first place, finally giving Joyce a hug.

"Thank you," She murmurs.

"Don't even think about," Joyce tells her. "Now, put those on and go have a great time. The park director says that there are canoes and kayaks you guys can take out if you talk to him."

The last part is directed at the whole group as she and El separate. Dustin cheers, leading the way toward the beach. Mike and El find each other's hands as they walk, glancing at each other to smile.

"You look really nice," Mike starts, and then turns beet red when he realizes how certain individuals might interpret that comment the wrong way. "I-I mean, your bathing suit, it looks really cool."

El smiles a little wider, looking down at it again. The bottom is black with big white polka dots, and the top is plain red.

"Thanks Mike," She says. "Yours looks cool too."

Mike turns even more red at the compliment, glancing down at his swim trunks. They're black with white zig zags running across them, nothing super fancy.

"Careful children, the big bad chief would just _love_ a reason to separate you two on this trip," Liz interjects, coming up beside El. "Wouldn't want my little sis getting into trouble now."

"He can try," El comments, tightening her grip on Mike's hand.

"And I'd love to see that happen," Liz responds with a grin. "Looks like I'm winning the little sister game in this group, huh?"

"Since when is El your little sister?" Mike questions.

"Since we got raised by the same psychopath," Liz answers, her grin not faltering. "And since I'm older than her, that makes her my little sister, which _also_ means that I'm at liberty to castrate you with a bobby pin if you upset her."

Mike gulps, louder than he probably intended.

"Liz," El warns, fixing her 'sister' with a look.

"Don't worry, I'm just the standing threat now that Hopper doesn't scare you guys anymore," Liz replies, holding up her hands. "But I'm the non-interfering type, so unless there's a problem, you kids can have fun."

With that she goes to bother Steve, ruffling his hair from behind and promptly starting an argument.

"Don't worry about them," El assures her boyfriend. "Nobody is getting between us ever again."

Mike smiles again, squeezing her hand.

When they finally reach the beach, Dustin has already waded waist deep into the water, waving for everyone to join him as they set their towels down and take off their shoes.

"Come on, the water's great!" He calls, just before diving beneath the surface.

"I'm not going after him if he drowns," Max comments, laying out her towel next to Lucas'. El chooses the spot next to her, so Mike puts his stuff down as well.

"I'll be building," Will announces, dropping his towel next to Mike's and heading for the water with his plastic bucket.

"Building?" El questions, watching the boy fill his bucket with water, and then find a spot in the sand just beyond where the high tide would sit.

"His sandcastle masterpiece," Mike explains. "I think he's going for three stories this time since it's been so long."

El watches in fascination for a while longer, mesmerized as Will wets his sand, packing it together into vague structures. The longer she watches, the more definition he gives to each one, smoothing out the sides with his shovel.

"El?" Mike says for the eighth time, finally getting her attention. "Do you want to swim? Or build a sandcastle or something?"

"You'll teach me?" She asks, casting a nervous glance at the water. It doesn't have the smell of salt like the Bath, but still...

"If you want," Mike answers. "Whatever you want to do."

El takes another deep breath, and steels her resolve.

"Teach me," She decides, squeezing Mike's hand.

XxX

"So, how was the beach guys?" Joyce asks when the group makes their way back to camp for the final time that day. Thankfully everyone had worn enough sunscreen, and except for Dustin's slightly pink cheeks, are free of sunburn.

"Awesome!" Will exclaims for the group. "I finally made that giant sandcastle I've been wanting to build."

"I showed Dustin up at skipping rocks again," Max announces proudly.

"No you didn't!" Dustin argues. "Mine was going to beat you if it hadn't hit a fish!"

Not even Hopper can help the snigger that escapes him when he hears that, and soon everyone in their little campsite is laughing at Dustin's tragic throw.

"Mike taught me how to swim," El adds once the laughter dies down, sending Hopper into full dad-mode, levelling his 'look' on Mike.

"Did he now?" The man inquires, sitting up in his folding chair. "And how exactly did he do that?"

"Hopper," Joyce says with an edge.

"He showed me how to kick my legs to stay up, and made sure I didn't sink when I tried to float," El reports, not catching Mrs. Byers' warning tone. "I don't like putting my face underwater though, I get water in my nose."

"And we built a sandcastle!" Mike adds, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, and it was really big too!" El says excitedly, latching onto the subject change even if she doesn't realize it. "It wasn't as big as Will's, but it was big!"

Lucas and Dustin suppress a snigger. Comparing Will's sandcastle to Mike and El's is like comparing a house to a castle. It's not that it was bad, but it was El's first attempt at building a sandcastle, so it was lacking some...finesse.

What none of them will tell Hopper, however, is that El had used her telekinesis to shape some of the sand structures. She'd also used her powers more than once to pull Mike into a kiss during their swimming lessons, but it was obvious that none of them had any idea it was going on, definitely none at all.

"That's great, I'm glad everyone had fun!" Joyce declares, gathering attention back. "Now, everyone go get changed, we're going to start on dinner!"

The kids do their best to dry off before changing back into regular clothes. With the sun quickly setting, the get sweatshirts and jackets ready for when it gets colder. El proudly wears her frog sweatshirt, leaning her head on Mike's shoulder as they watch the campfire Hopper is building.

Dinner tonight is a simple barbeque, burgers and hot dogs with a salad that Joyce had put together while they were at the beach.

"Now I know it's not on the schedule," Steve says, coming back from his car with a large brown box. "But Liz and I stopped by the bakery on our way over this morning and got a bunch of cookies for everyone."

A cheer goes up around the campfire, and Steve is promptly swarmed by soon-to-be-high-schoolers. Liz laughs at his predicament from her hammock, content with the oreos that had been scheduled for desert.

"Alright nerds, it's time for a ghost story," Liz announces once everyone is comfortable around the fire again. "And my stories come with visuals, so sit back and enjoy the ride."

The kids and Steve exchange nervous glances, well acquainted with just how terrifying Liz can be. El takes the excuse to snuggle closer up against Mike than before, which Hopper notices, but doesn't comment on.

"A long time ago, when this land was first being settled," Liz starts, getting out of her hammock. Whether by her illusions or just convenient timing, a chill wind blows in from the lake, sending a shiver down everyone's spines. "This land was originally a small settlement, just a few families who came to the new world for a fresh beginning."

Mike listens intently, always in for a good story that he doesn't have to tell.

"For a while, everything was fine. They fished in the lake, hunted for game, and managed to trade peacefully with the natives," Liz continues. "But then one day, when a blood red moon hung in the sky, one of the settlers turned on his friends and family. Without a word or warning, he took the axe from his woodpile and drove it into each and every person in the settlement."

The sound of squelching and cracking echoes from the trees around them, as does the sound of footsteps trying to flee from something, or someone. With the firelight flickering on her face, Liz looks almost demonic.

"When the moon set the next morning, he remembered nothing of what he did," Liz tells them, more wind whistling past them. "But when he saw the settlers, and the bloody axe in his hand, he knew. It drove him mad. He tore the settlement down with that same axe, until only the blood soaked earth remained, and then disappeared. Nobody knows where he went, or if he died."

Several of the kids have gone a bit pale by now.

"There were other attempts at settling this land, but they all ended up the same," Liz keeps going, the winds getting stronger, making the flames flicker and dance wildly in the pit. "Anyone who remained here after nightfall would be found later with a hole in their head, like it was made by an axe, if they were found at all."

Liz pauses for a moment, letting the sounds around them trickle in. One, barely audible, sounds like an axe against a tree.

"If you listen hard, you can still hear the settler clearing the trees away," Liz says, picking up again. "But beware. If you hear the cutting stop, and see the blood moon in the sky, you're already too late to run..."

Liz trails off, looking out into the distance like she sees something. Slowly but surely everyone else follows her gaze, some curious, some cautious, and some all but quaking in their shoes.

Coming toward them, wearing tattered rags of what used to be clothes, with a wood cutting axe in hand, is a grotesque zombified figure. The closer it gets, the more detail they can see, like the patches of bone where all flesh had rotted or been torn away, or the few streaks of silver on the axe head where the dried blood had been scraped off.

"Alright, that's enough," Hopper says, getting everyone's attention back. "You had your fun, now get rid of it."

Liz sighs, but with a wave of her hand the axe wielding zombie disappears. There's still a bit of wind, but not as much as before.

"How about a song?" Nancy suggests, seeing how apprehensive everyone still is. "Boys, do you remember any camp songs?"

The four boys look at each other, all trying to dig through their minds for something they might have sang on a camping trip. It's been a long time though, so it's hard to remember.

"I've got one," Hopper says after a few moments, sitting up straighter in his chair. "My grandad loved it, before he passed away."

"What song?" Joyce questions, intrigued at the thought of Hopper singing.

"You'll see," He answers, and then clears his throat. "If I had my old guitar, I used to be able to play it, but it's been years."

The circle around him seems surprised, trying to picture the big bad police chief playing any musical instrument, let alone a guitar.

"Almost heaven, West Virginia," Hopper starts, his voice surprisingly melodic considering his usual gruffness. "Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River."

"Life is old there, older than the trees," Joyce joins in when Hopper takes a breath. "Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze."

"Country roads, take me home," The others sing, at least all the ones that know the words. "To the place, I belong."

El looks around in wonder as all of her friends sings, some of them better than others. She's never heard the song before, but getting to hear it like this for the first time, it might just be her new favorite.

"West Virginia, mountain mama," The group continues, their voices rising up through the trees around their little campfire. "Take me home, country roads."

It's not the song, or even the singers, that make this moment special for El. It's that they're all together, all happy, all getting along. For those few minutes she can forget about everything that they've been through, and stop worrying about what might happen later. Her boyfriend is beside her and her family all around her, singing a song she doesn't know the words to.

As she starts to hum along, not wanting to be left out, she smiles.

* * *

The party is camping!

This is something I've really wanted to see them do together, even if it does have to include parental supervision. My beta reader and I both agree that camping is something everyone should try at least once, just to get away from the stress and hustle of the technological world for a little while. Not against technology or anything, I'm on my computer almost 24/7, but sometimes it's nice to know that there's so much to do that doesn't require charging or wi-fi signals.

Moving swiftly onward, SEASON THREE COMES OUT TONIGHT! IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE SEASON TWO DROPPED AND I NEED MORE CONTENT!

Okay, got that out of my system, good. I hope everyone tunes in to watch season three, I know I'll be binging through the night before anyone can spoil it for me.

Like I mentioned last chapter, we are approaching the conclusion of what I've been calling the pre-story, which is all the transitional and set up fluff that needed to happen for my world building purposes. I've made some slight edits to my plotline in wake of the season three trailers, based on theories that I have, but everything should still go relatively according to plan. It's going to be awesome to see if any of my predictions come true tonight.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3, summer break(start), 4th of July, end of summer part 1

In Progress- end of summer part 2

To Do- something for the start of school

Until next time!


	13. Chapter 13: Close Encounters

Ahoy!

In the wake of Season 3, I thought I should post something, so I put together a short chapter. Let me just say, if you haven't seen season three yet, you should watch it soon. I have some mixed feelings about this season and the direction that it took (not just because it proved my entire story wrong, I have some legitimate problems), but overall I think it was something absolutely incredible. Would I have done things differently? Yes. Is it my story to create? No, so I have to appreciate the season for what it is. The acting was magnificent as always, and the effects really took a step up. Finally being able to see some happiness in Hawkins was a great experience, and I definitely want to try to draw in some of the material from season three, though it will definitely take place long after the canon time. I just really want to see where the Duffers are going with the story they've given us now.

I have so much I want to say, but I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll cut myself off.

Without further ado...

* * *

El's eyes flutter open in the darkness, her dream about Mike singing coming to an end, much to her disappointment. Her sleeping bag slips down when she sits up, and she shivers in the chill.

She digs her frog sweatshirt out of her sleeping bag, quickly putting it on to stave off the chill, just like Hopper had told her. Max is still asleep beside her, her sleeping bag closed up around her so the chill can't get in.

Not wanting to wake her friend, El braces herself against the chill, wearing sweatpants that don't seem to do much, and puts on her shoes. She gets out of the tent as quickly as she can, not wanting to let all the slightly warmer air out. Hopper had warned her that anything she wore to bed wouldn't stay warm once she got up, and it seems like he was right. It's still pretty dark, only the stars overhead to light the campsite.

It's also quiet, more so than El has ever heard the real world be. There are always little insects or animals making noise around the cabin, and even in a little town like Hawkins there are noises that can be heard at all hours. Something about it just feels...wrong...

 _"Go..."_

El whips around, trying to find the source of the word. There's nobody else around, and all of her friends are still asleep.

 _"You can't..."_ The voice continues, El still trying to pinpoint it. Her feet start to move, though she isn't looking at where she's going. _"...idiot, they won't..."_

The feeling of sinking into the sand is El's first inclination of how far she's moved, all the way to the beach. The water is eerily calm in the darkness.

 _"RUN!"_

El stumbles at the sudden shout, falling back on her hands. As soon as she hits the ground, the world around her flickers and changes, becoming covered in vines and goo, the trees turning rotten, and the air filled with little white bits.

The Upside Down.

That's not the most terrifying part, however. Just across the lake, which looks surprisingly normal despite the decay around it, is the enemy she'd sealed behind the gate last fall. The Mind Flayer, close enough to see the dark smoke of its body writhe and coil.

The scream that passes her lips comes unbidden, and she tries to back further away from the water, until her hand catches on a vine. She pulls away quickly, but it doesn't try to come after her.

Then she notices something else, once her panic settles into terror. The Mind Flayer is writhing and coiling, but not toward her, like something else already has its attention. It's massive smokey tentacles drive toward something, only to meet some kind of invisible wall.

As she watches, there's a massive burst of what looks like fire, and the Mind Flayer roars in what must be agony, backing away from the heat. Red lightning flashes in the sky around it as it roars, until another burst interrupts it.

Something touches her shoulder, and El screams again, telekinetically pushing whatever it is away from her.

"Eleven!"

"Will!"

Her head whips around, the Upside Down flickering around her again. She blinks several times, until the horror and decay disappears. Her friends are running toward her, Hopper barreling ahead of them. Will is a few feet away, his eyes still wide in terror, obviously seeing what she had just seen. She hadn't even heard him come up behind her.

"Are you alright?" Hopper asks, coming to a skidding halt on the beach next to her. "What happened?"

"Will!" Joyce shouts, rushing to her son, which seems to be enough to snap him out of whatever trance he's in.

"Where's Mike?" El questions, her head still spinning and her stomach churning. "Mike?!"

There's a loud groan from further down the beach, and a weak wave from the end of a long skid mark.

"Mike!" Nancy exclaims, running over to her brother.

El forgets about her head and her stomach, scrambling over to her boyfriend. Aside from being covered in sand, he doesn't seem to be injured.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," El cries, making the simple connection that she'd thrown him with her telekinesis by accident.

"I'm fine," He groans, letting Nancy help him into a sitting position. "Just a little sandy. Are _you_ alright?"

El starts to nod, until her stomach catches up with her and she heaves its contents into the sand, quickly turning away from her friends. Hopper gives her a gentle pat on the back until she spits the last of it out of her mouth.

"He's here," She manages to say.

"What?" Hopper questions. "Who's 'he'? Who's here?"

"The Mind Flayer," Will answers, voice trembling, his mother still trying to check him over as they join the other group. "Across the lake."

Hopper's eyes go wide, and then he rounds on the lake, trying to find any hint of the spectral monster that had invaded Hawkins.

"He can't get us," El tells everyone. "The Gate is closed."

"Then why is he here?" Dustin demands. "He wouldn't come all this way just to look at us, so there must be something he wanted to do!"

"Lay off, Dustin!" Mike retorts, taking El's hand in his. "They're not mind readers!"

"As the party member that _is_ a mind reader, I'm not sure that would really help," Liz chimes in. "I think the best thing to do right now would be to pack up and get out of here before it decides to cross the lake."

"It won't," Will says, with strange confidence. "It doesn't like water, just like it doesn't like heat."

"And it's distracted," El adds, getting some color back in her face, though it's still hard to tell in the dark. "It's fighting something."

That gives everyone a moment of pause. Fighting implies that both sides stand a chance of winning.

"Fighting?" Hopper questions. "Meaning something is there that isn't getting instantly crushed by it?"

"It was winning..." El tells him, much to everyone's shock. "The Mind Flayer couldn't get past it."

"Details later, people!" Liz announces, snapping them out of their conversation. "Break camp and get the hell out of dodge!"

That manages to spur everyone to action, helping Mike and El to their feet. Sleeping bags are rolled haphazardly, tents are hastily folded and stuffed back into bags, and the kitchen is broken down in less than half the time it took to set up. The kids toss their bags into the trunks of the cars they came in just as the first rays of dawn start to shine across the water. The campsite is cleared and deserted before the sun clears the horizon, the only traces of their presence being the flattened areas of grass where the tents had been.

Hopper stops briefly to tell the park director about their early vacancy and return the parking passes. The man asks a few questions, but once Hopper explains that he got an emergency message from back home over his police scanner the subject is dropped. Thankfully, he doesn't bring up the fact that the police scanner isn't strong enough to carry a signal to or from Hawkins over this distance, likely because he'd only just woken up as well.

With their trip cut short, the group heads to the Byers house, the unofficial headquarters of their endeavors. The kids all sleep on the way back, Jonathan and Steve actually passing the keys to their copilots halfway through before they fall asleep at the wheel. Liz proves to be a very competent, if somewhat aggressive driver. Hopper drives the whole way, the cogs in his brain racing and smoking to keep up with his train of thought.

Once they reach the Byers house, they pile into the living room, feeling a strange and unfortunate sense of nostalgia. Last time they'd all gathered here hadn't ended all that well for everyone.

"Alright, you've had three hours to make sense of it," Hopper says when everyone is settled, turning his gaze on Will and El. The two are sitting on either side of Mike, who'd offered each a hand to hold in the car on the way back, and again once they sat down. "What happened?

The two exchange a glance with each other, and then El clears her throat.

"I woke up when it was still dark, but I didn't want to wake Max too, so I went outside," She starts. "Then I heard a voice, and it sounded like it was coming from the lake, so I went to check it out."

"A voice?" Hopper asks. "What kind of voice? Who was speaking?"

"I don't know, there was no one there," El answers. "I could only get a few words, but then it shouted to run, and I started seeing the Upside Down."

El pauses, biting her lip so it won't tremble.

"I didn't hear any voices, but I had a feeling," Will says, giving El some more time to steady herself. "It felt like _him_ , like when he was around, the Mind Flayer. I woke Mike up cause it scared me, and we were going to go tell you, but then we saw El going toward the lake."

"It seemed like too much of a coincidence, so we followed her," Mike picks up, feeling his friend getting more tense by the second. "Then she screamed, so we started running, and then she and Will just seemed frozen. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I tried getting El's attention, but then I got thrown."

"Sorry," She murmurs again, and Mike squeezes her hand.

"And when you were frozen, that's when you saw the Mind Flayer?" Hopper asks, getting two nods. "But you didn't see whoever was speaking? Or whatever it was fighting?"

Both kids shake their heads.

"I might be able to get some more information, if you guys will let me," Liz offers, looking at the other two with psychic powers.

"Will it hurt?" Will asks after a few moments.

"I can't say it's always pleasant, but it shouldn't be terrible," Liz responds with a shrug. "I won't force you."

"I'll do it," El volunteers, squeezing Mike's hand back.

Liz nods, moving to kneel in front of her surrogate sister. She puts her fingertips on either of El's temples, and then they both tense for a second. A bead of blood runs out of Liz's nose, and then she lets her arms fall.

"That was terrifying," She comments, almost nonchalantly, shaking her arms before wiping the blood from her nose. "But not for the reason you're probably thinking. Whatever was fighting that thing could _create_ fire, and I only know of one person capable of doing that."

"Let me guess, they're not friendly?" Hopper grumbles.

"The only person who ever displayed the ability was Four, and only when he was really angry," Liz explains. "He couldn't control it back then, and every time he used it he would pass out right after because it took so much energy. If I'm right, and that was him, then he's gotten so much stronger than I expected."

"Just how much do you really know about the other numbers?" Hopper asks. "You say that they're all impossible to beat, but what can they really do?"

Liz glares up at the Chief, and then stands. A sense of deja vu settles over the room as the others watch.

"I know everything that the researchers I resonated with did, right before I snapped their necks and escaped from their prison," She retorts, which makes Hopper purse his lips, his eyes shifting away from hers. "I can tell you that One and Two are both dead, after their famously disastrous escape attempt."

El sucks in a sharp breath at the mention of the other numbers. She may never have known them, but they were like her.

"One had telekinesis and could perform psychometry. Two could read minds by touching someone, and sometimes could see a little bit of what was about to happen. They got as far as the parking lot outside their facility," Liz explains, her gaze still fixed on Hopper. "If only Two had seen the sniper on the roof before he put a bullet through each of their heads. They even caught it on camera, and they would show it to us if they ever thought we were getting too free spirited."

El's grip on Mike's hand tightens, and a tear glitters down her cheek.

"Three was the best of us, stronger than any of us have ever been, before or since," The older girl continues, her expression as hard and cold as her tone. "She had more skills as a child than El and I put together, and each one of them came naturally. She passed every test like it was nothing, which is why she was one of Brenner's favorites."

El flinches at Brenner's name, and Mike switches from holding her hand to putting his arm around her, pulling her closer.

"You want to know what happened to her?" Liz questions. "Her scrying was so powerful it developed into astral projection. She could send her consciousness out into the world, like a ghost, and go anywhere she wanted."

Liz pauses, biting her lip for a second. Everyone almost misses the glint of light that travels down her cheek.

"Unfortunately, astral projection has limitations, just like the rest of our powers," She says, keeping her cold edge in check. "The first time she tested it, it used up her energy like pouring out a water bottle, until there was nothing left to give. Then she burned."

Liz actually manages to chuckle a little bit.

"I never explained burning, did I?" She laughs, wiping the tear from her cheek. "It's what happens when you try to go beyond what your current capacity is. El did it when she destroyed the Demogorgon, and then again when she closed the gate. In small doses, it lets us increase our power, which is why El's telekinesis has gotten stronger over time. But if you go too far too fast, then the strain burns through your brain cells, until there's nothing left."

By this point El is full on crying into Mike's shoulder. That could just as easily have been her, if she hadn't escaped.

"She's still alive though," Liz says with a note of finality. "She was too good a research subject to let die, so they hooked her up to life support in some hospital in Alaska, all by the time she turned ten. That was eight years ago."

A hush settles over the room when she stops talking, nobody willing to breach the silence, or try to change the subject. It stays that way for almost ten minutes, until Hopper finally clears his throat.

"We're all a little on edge right now, so why don't we all take a break?" He suggests. "Your parents don't expect you home until tomorrow, so we can finish our vacation here. I'll be making some calls."

The kids look around at each other as Hopper leaves the room, Joyce looking at her kids one more before following, El still drying her eyes.

"I could probably throw a campaign together," Mike says. "If I can borrow your books, Will."

Will nods, taking a deep breath before finally letting go of Mike's hand. The paladin gives his girlfriend one last squeeze before he goes to get the books from Will's room.

"There's actually one more thing I want to test before your nerd fest starts," Liz declares, moving back over to her sister. "You're actually going to enjoy this one. I want you to focus on Mike, nothing else."

El sniffs, and then nods, closing her eyes.

"Now I'm going to go do something," The older girl explains. "When I come back, you're going to tell me what I did."

El nods again, a faint smile on her face. Liz grins, and then leaves the room. A few seconds later they hear a yelp from Mike in the other room, followed by a muted conversation. Several seconds later they both come back into the living room, Mike carrying D&D books and glaring at the back of Liz's head.

"What did I do?" Liz asks, stopping in front of El, who opens her eyes.

"You pulled a hair from the back of his neck," She says, giving the girl a stern look. "That's not nice."

"Yeah, what the hell was that about?" Mike demands, but Liz ignores him.

"I just confirmed the best news that you two have gotten in months," She tells them with a big grin.

"And that would be...?" Mike asks, still annoyed.

"Oh, nothing really," Liz responds with just as much sass. "Just that the two of you are telepathically linked."

* * *

I'll end it there for now, give you guys some cliffhangers so you'll keep coming back.

This was a short chapter, but I gave you a lot to unpack. The Mind Flayer is still around, up to some nefarious new scheme. Mike and Eleven are telepathically linked, which is something I've been trying to build for a long time. It started after their fight, and has been getting stronger ever since. So far they've been able to share emotions with one another, but who knows what it could become? (Credit to one of my other author friends, who wishes to remain unnamed, for this concept of telepathic linking, and being the biggest font of Stranger Things information and ideas that I know).

AND we got the 411 on not one, not two, but THREE of the other numbers in the program. Unfortunately, there won't be any great rescue arcs for them considering their current status. If you stick around, though, you may just find out about more numbers that are still alive! Isn't that awesome?!

Now that season three has dropped, my writing fire is back to full force, and the details of my storyline are coming so much easier than they normally do. Hopefully I can get a bunch of chapters out to you guys before it starts to die down again, so fingers crossed!

Last thing, which I feel is important to note. This story incorporates a lot of content from Stranger Things companion materials, but there are things that I am cutting out for my own purposes. Canon Six will have a comic series, El's canon father appears in a novel, and season three has so much stuff that I can't begin to describe. The canon for this story begins and ends with the Snowball in season 2, everything from there on is what I've planned for myself. There have been a few happy coincidences, but I maintain my own ideas above all. I planned this out in the winter of 2017, and I've followed that outline to this day, so anything that seems like I just took it from a canon moment could very well be something I came up with that later became canon, not the other way around.

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3, summer break(start), 4th of July, end of summer part 1 & 2

In Progress- start of school

To Do- the real story is about to begin

Until next time!


	14. Chapter 14: Heart to Heart

Welcome travelers!

Once again, I'll say that Season 3 was absolutely incredible, and you should definitely go watch it (I have done so more than once now). Now that comes not only has a suggestion, but a warning, because I have integrated some important season 3 content into the following chapter, so if you haven't seen it yet, DO NOT continue reading past this point.

To the guest reviewer named Jon, two things. First, thanks for the review, I always love to see and read them. Second, you called me out literally one chapter before I planned to address the one-sidedness. Up to this point, it has been completely intentional, and I had a resolution planned to address it. Your review gave me the motivation to actually write it out, but still, the timing is uncanny. With Season 3 dropping, it gave me a much better way to round out this arc than I had planned, so I changed my plan a bit, and I'm very happy with it.

*IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED WATCHING STRANGER THINGS 3, DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER, MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD*

And now, the chapter...

* * *

"Alright, now tell him what you want," Liz instructs, sitting next to El, a hand on her shoulder.

 _"A coke,"_ El says in her mind. _"A cold one, from the fridge."_

She looks to Liz, not quite sure what's supposed to happen.

"Well, give him a second, he's gotta walk back over," Liz tells her, letting go of her sister's leg. "Knowing Lover Boy, he'll trip up the stairs while he's at it."

El frowns at her, but doesn't comment. A few seconds later they hear footsteps approaching from the hallway, and then Mike appears, holding three cans of coke, condensation already gathering on the red cans.

"I didn't know if Liz wanted one too, so I grabbed three," He says, setting them down on the table.

El beams at him, resisting the urge to tackle hug him, as is her natural instinct.

"It worked," She declares, practically vibrating with excitement.

 _"Yes, it did,"_ Mike replies, entirely in her mind, grinning like an idiot.

"Told you we could get that range extended," Liz comments, opening her can and sitting back. "The emotional connection has what I assume is an unlimited range, but if you keep practicing, you can get the talking distance up to par."

"Easy for you to say," Mike tells her, sitting down heavily on El's other side. "That was exhausting."

"What did you expect?" Liz asks sarcastically. "Sharing a telepathic connection with your girlfriend would be a walk in the park? You'd instantly be a master of psychic powers with no _experience_ and no _clue_ what you're doing?"

"Be nice," El interjects, before they can start arguing again. "Mike's doing really well. I'm proud."

She smiles at her boyfriend again, and then pulls him closer with her mind so she can kiss him. He doesn't resist, pulling away with an even bigger grin.

"Ok, you've earned a break, I guess," Liz decides, standing up. "I know El can keep going, but you'll pass out if we try to extend _your_ range any further right now."

Mike's grin turns into a grimace, though Liz's words are true. El can send him messages all the way across the building, but when he tries to reply he can barely go further than across the room. It's so easy for her to pick up, but here he is holding her back.

"You're doing perfect, Mike," El assures him, feeling what he feels through their link. "It's only been a week."

They're interrupted by Liz closing the door to the apartment and clicking the lock shut. Her face is much more serious when she comes back.

"Why'd you lock the door?" Mike asks, sitting up a little straighter in his seat.

"Because we need to talk, and I don't want anyone interrupting," She says, sitting back down. "And I also don't want you two walking out on me, because this has been a long time coming, and it's not waiting any longer."

"Talk?" El questions. "About what?"

"About a lot of things," Liz answers, taking a sip of coke. "You, him, the two of you together, Hopper, the list goes on."

El purses her lips at the mention of Hopper, but doesn't comment. They've been back on regular speaking terms since the camping trip, and he's come over for dinner twice in the week since they returned. It's been slow progress though, three long grueling months since Liz had revealed the truth to them.

"We'll get to him in a minute though, first we're going to talk about you," Liz starts. "You're about to go into high school, but you haven't shown any interest in any of the electives you get to choose. Once Hopper gets everything finalized, you'll need to pick something."

"I want to be with my friends," El answers matter of factly.

"And you will be, seven hours a day, five days a week, plus every second you're around each other out of school," Liz responds, rolling her eyes. "But 'friends' isn't a class, 'friends' isn't a field you go into later in life. I know you're just getting into the regular girl things here, but it's important that you be able to branch out on your own and find stuff that _you_ like just because it's what _you_ like, nobody else."

"She's got plenty of time for that," Mike interjects, trying to defend El's choice. "If she wants to take classes with us while she adjusts, what's wrong with that?"

Liz is silent for a few seconds, biting her upper lip.

"El, it's been almost two years since you got out of the lab, and almost a year since the lab shut down. What do you want to do, now that you're free?" Liz asks after a few moments. "What do you do in your free time, alone, that makes you happy?" She pauses for El to answer, but the younger girl just presses her lips together. "What's your favorite food that isn't eggos?"

"I don't even know the answers to some of those things, and I've had a lot longer to think about them," Mike insists, not seeing the point of this conversation. "Why does this matter so much right now?"

"Because right now El is your girlfriend, she's a party member, she's Hopper's daughter, she's Steve's tenant, she's _my_ sister," Liz lists, looking straight into Mike's eyes. "But she isn't her own person yet. When you guys aren't around, she just waits for you to come back." She shifts her gaze to El now. "If you're going to be a full participant in the real world, then you need to become a full person, El. You need to have your _own_ interests, your _own_ hobbies, and your own _life_. It's fine to want to do things with your friends, but _you_ need to exist whether your friends are around or not."

Liz stops to breathe, and El looks caught between wanting to cry and wanting to be mad at the girl in front of her. Mike opens his mouth to say something, but a touch on his leg from El stops him. El swallows hard, and then looks back into Liz's eyes, trying to figure out what she sees there.

"Thank you," She finally says, evidently finding the answer to her unspoken question. "For being honest."

"Well, you guys say it all the time, right?" Liz replies with a half smile. "Friends don't lie."

El cracks a smile back at her, and then turns to Mike.

"I wanted to try cooking," She tells him. "Do you want to take it with me?"

"I'd love to, if I weren't already locked into my schedule," Mike responds, hiding his shock at her sudden acceptance of Liz's argument. "I can try talking to the guidance counselor to change it."

"No, don't change it for me," El insists. "I need to start being my own person."

"You're not going to break up with me now, are you?" Mike asks, only a little nervous for the answer.

"Not yet," El answers, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, and then whisper in his ear. "But we'll see."

Mike's eyes go wide, and he inhales sharply, until El starts to laugh. Liz can guess what she just said, joining in the laughter while Mike tries to stop his pulse from racing a mile a minute.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to Mike," Liz announces, the short-lived mirth evaporating. "Seeing how I've lived through all of your memories, so you can't lie to me, I'll just ask. How's your arm doing?"

Mike reflexively covers his left arm with his right hand, having worn short sleeves today since he'd probably die in a long sleeved shirt. It's a wonder Liz can survive, wearing a leather jacket in this heat. El tenses beside him, not prepared for the sudden shift in conversation.

"Don't pretend, I've known about it since we first met," She tells him. "I was going to bring it up that night too, but the Hopper news spiralled way out of control." This time Mike tenses, remembering the night he'd told El. That had been hard enough. "So I'll ask again, how's your arm doing?"

"It's fine," Mike answers shortly. "It has been for a long time."

"Has it though?" Liz questions. "I know I haven't read you for three months, but I doubt your thoughts have changed _that_ drastically since then."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mike retorts, not convincing either of the people who hear him.

"You thought once El came back, you'd be fine, you'd never even _think_ about doing it again," Liz responds, setting her coke can down. "But you have, you've thought about it a lot. Every time you remember what it was like to lose her, you want to add another line."

"I'm not talking about this right now," Mike says, starting to stand. He makes it halfway up before he freezes, struggling ineffectively against his invisible restraints. "El, let go of me."

"No," She says, turning her full body toward him. "Is she telling the truth? Do you still want to cut yourself?"

Mike struggles again, trying to break himself out of the iron grip El's mind has on him. It's not until he finally accepts that he's not going to get free on his own that he sighs, sad and defeated. He doesn't say anything, but when El sees the tears start to run down his cheeks, she stands to hug him. His body starts to move again, but only makes it as far as El's embrace.

"Not talking about it isn't the same as dealing with it," Liz says after a minute of silence, her voice quiet and solemn. "Just because the source of those thoughts ended, they're still inside your head. You still lived through them, you still _felt_ them, and they're every bit as real now as they were then."

It takes another minute, but Mike finally sits down, tightly gripping El's hand.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asks, wiping his eyes with his free hand.

"Honestly, I don't know for certain," Liz answers. "There's no cut and paste method that will magically cure you, unless you want to just get rid of a year of your memories altogether."

"Is that an option?" Mike questions, only half joking.

"No, it isn't," The older girl tells him definitively. "You don't want that to happen, it's not pretty."

"Then what I am supposed to do?!" Mike demands, his despair turning to anger. "What was the fucking point of bringing this all up again if you can't help?!"

"So you can start to figure out what works, and what doesn't," Liz replies calmly. "Ignoring it doesn't, so we can cross that off the list. Finding something that works usually means finding a hundred things that don't."

"And what then?!" Mike continues. "I just live with it forever?!"

"In a way, yes. Your thoughts and memories are with you forever, whether you consciously remember them or not," Liz explains, starting to shrug off her jacket as the room heats up. "But you can accept them and move past them. It won't be quick, or easy, but you'll know when you're there."

Mike is quiet for a while, looking down at the floor in front of him. It's several long moments of silence before he finally opens his mouth. "How?"

"Because the itch will finally be gone," She says, with incredible certainty. "You'll be able to look at your arms and not see where the next line can go."

Mike finally looks up just as Liz is folding her jacket up. Aside from the beach, this is the first time he can remember her being without it.

"I have more memories in my head than anyone, dozens and dozens of lifetimes of people I barely remember, but know everything about," She tells them, turning her arms over. The undersides of her arms are pale, almost concealing what lies across them. "You lose yourself in them. The line where you end and they begin just disappears after so many, and then no matter how hard you try, you can't pull yourself out of the _mess_ that's in there now. It was one of the few things that I knew was _me_." Her voice cracks with the last word, so she stops. El and Mike both notice the teardrops rolling down her cheeks, but neither can even open their mouths to speak. "Every time I pulled the knife across my arm, that stupid switchblade I keep in my pocket, I knew that _I_ still existed, that I was still in there and I was still a _person_."

There are four lines on her left arm, and two on her right, all close enough to her elbows that they'd never show.

"Six lines, right?" Liz asks, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. "That's the number they gave me, back when I was still just Elizabeth, so that's what I gave myself, to remember."

None of them speak for a long while, the minutes stretching on without interruption, the only faint sounds coming when a car passes by outside.

"It was all in the year after I escaped," Liz finally says. "I wanted to get it all out of my head, but I couldn't, not without getting rid of any piece of me that was still left, so that's what I did." She manages a half laugh. "I've lived enough lives now to know better, I guess. I've spent the last four years moving past it, but it's still hard sometimes, still easier not to talk about it and pretend everything is fine again."

"When did you know?" Mike questions, his voice quiet and wavering.

Liz actually smiles, a real, genuine smile.

"I finally stopped feeling the itch when I met Kali. It was just so nice to know that there was another person like me that could keep going without what I was doing," She explains, her tone softer than they've ever heard it before. "If she could do it, then so could I. Then I found out about Eleven, and I got scared, that one of us had escaped one prison just to be put in another." She laughs, a full laugh this time. "Guess I was wrong, huh? Seeing this little family you guys put together, how you all actually _cared_ about each other, as people...that's when I stopped seeing the next six lines."

By this point, El is all but sobbing, and Mike puts his arms around her.

"It's gonna be alright, El," He whispers.

"You might want to talk to your friends," Liz suggests. "Will especially, after all he's been through. You guys were there for him, so let them them be there for you."

Mike doesn't respond, still not sure what he wants to do. All he's sure of right now is that he needs to stop doing nothing.

"Let's take a break," Liz decides, finishing her can of coke, the other two still unopened. "I'm gonna grab another drink."

"I thought this _was_ the break?" Mike questions as the older girl stands.

"Well, we need a break from the break," Liz answers. "We still have more to talk about, but we can wait a few minutes before we dive into it."

As she leaves, unlocking the door, Mike is astounded yet again by how quickly Liz changes emotions. It's like flicking a switch, they're all just ready to go.

"Mike?" El murmurs, wiping her eyes. "Why does everything have to be sad?"

Mike squeezes her in his embrace, wholly unprepared for this conversation, though he hadn't been particularly ready for the other two.

"Not everything turns into something sad, we just drew the short straw lately," He tells her. "And if comic books have taught me anything, it's that we're going to be stronger because of this. The strongest characters never have an easy past, but they have the power to make their future whatever they want it to be."

"I want to be happy," El responds, sniffing. "I want to live a normal life, without the lab, without the Upside Down. I want to go to the mall with Max, and eat too much popcorn at the movies, and get brain freeze from eating my ice cream too fast, and I want to have a real family."

"And I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Mike replies. "So if you're willing to put up with me, I'll do everything I can to make sure you can do all of those things, whenever you want."

El smiles, hugging Mike back. They don't need to say anything else out loud, they can feel it just fine.

"Well isn't this sweet?" Liz comments, coming back in with a new can of coke. "Since we're already talking about family, seems like a nice segway into conversation number three."

Like before, she closes and locks the door, flopping onto the couch next to her leather jacket. Her can opens with a crack and a hiss, and she takes a swig before setting it down on the table.

"I'm gonna save the relationship one for now, I think Hopper has some kind of speech planned for that," Liz starts again. "Which means it's time to finally talk about Hopper, and how he's really not the bad guy you keep thinking he is."

"He gave me up," El retorts. "Called me a science experiment."

"And why did he do that?" Liz questions, crossing her legs underneath her to face the two younger teens. "Did he do that and then just sit back and watch?"

El doesn't answer, and Mike says nothing.

"No, he didn't," Liz says, answering her own question. "He made a deal so he could get Will out of the Upside Down. Would you have preferred that Will have died in there?"

"No," The two of them say in unison. El opens her mouth to say something else, but Liz keeps going.

"Would you have preferred that Hopper and Joyce have died in the lab?" Liz inquires, giving them both a hard look.

"No," They say again, and again El seems to want to say something.

"Then was Hopper trying to sell you out, or was he trying to survive and get Will back?" She persists. "The answer is, he wasn't. The idea that you might need protecting didn't cross his mind until after everything was finished. He knew you had powers, like the characters in the 'stupid comic books', and assumed you'd be able to take care of yourself." She puts air quotes around the comic books part, at which Mike seems to take some offense. "He realized he was wrong after what happened, so he took a chance, and left some eggos out in the woods. From the moment he found you, all he's wanted is for you to be safe."

"Because he felt guilty," El mutters, giving up on trying to cut in on Liz's spiel.

"Did I tell you he felt guilty?" Liz questions, and after a moment El shakes her head. "He didn't, even if he probably should have. He regretted it, for sure, but he never felt guilty. Getting Will out of the Upside Down was his number one priority, and he did what he had to do to accomplish that. After that, his number one priority was keeping everyone safe, which meant keeping up his part of the deal, but he kept thinking about the girl that disappeared."

El maintains her dark expression, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Things got quiet, and there were less government agents looking over his shoulder, so Hopper decided to take a chance," Liz continues. "He waited until everyone would be celebrating with their families, and then he left some eggos in a box in the woods. He did it every three days, until you caught on, and then brought you somewhere he thought you would be safe."

"That I could never leave," El retorts, sounding a lot like Liz did when they first met. "A year inside, waiting."

"His methods were questionable, yes," Liz relents, but doesn't give up. "But as soon as you followed him out of the woods, his number one priority changed. He put everything he had into making sure you were safe, even if you weren't happy about it."

"Yeah, and where did that get us?" Mike asks, throwing in his bitter two cents.

"It got us to exactly _this_ moment that we're having _right_ now, whether you like it or not," Liz answers. "It got us to where the two of you can be together without having to look over your shoulders every ten seconds to check for government agents. Without Hopper, El would have died from exposure in the woods-"

"I'd have been fine," El interjects, glaring over her knees at Liz.

"You had a week left in you, _at best_ , and then you'd have been dead," Liz snaps, shooting down El's attitude with her definitive knowledge. "Hopper saved your life then, and made sure you'd get to keep it."

"Then why did he lie?!" El demands, her emotions finally reaching a boiling point. "Why didn't he _tell_ me?!"

"Because he was afraid he'd lose you," Liz answers, as if it should be obvious. "I know you've both heard it mentioned, but Hopper had a daughter before you, years ago. She got sick and didn't get better, and all Hopper could do was try to make her happy, until she was gone." El sinks back a little, knowing a little bit of this story. "You gave him a second chance, so he decided that if it was between happy and safe, he'd make sure you were safe, at all costs."

"He still should have _said_ something about it," Mike responds. "Then at least-"

"What, Mike? At least _what_?" Liz interrupts. "It would have gone better than it has so far? I appreciate the thought, but you're not that naive." This time Mike shrinks back in his seat. "This was something Hopper planned to take to his grave, until I came along. It was festering though, something Hopper was using to justify not liking you, Mike, and all of his rules for you, El."

"Then why are we supposed to like him again?" Mike asks. "If he's just so against us, then why should we forgive him?"

El remains silent, her brow still furrowed, but slightly less dark than before.

"I'm not saying you have to forgive him, but you need to stop thinking that he's a bad guy and treating him like one," Liz explains. "He's a dad who's trying his best to keep his daughter safe, because he can't go through losing another. All I'm trying to do is get you to understand his side of this argument."

"What about our side?" El asks quietly, the venom from her earlier tone gone.

"He understands, I made sure of it," Liz tells them. "So the very least I'm expecting from the two of you is to do the same."

Mike and El look at each other, a silent conversation passing between them.

"Can you show us?" El requests, putting her legs back on the sofa.

Liz smiles at them, and then nods. There's hope for them yet.

XxX

"I really can't believe you, Hop," Joyce comments, taking stock of what Hopper had just shown her. "El is finally starting to let you in again, and _this_ is your great idea to help with that?"

"What, you don't think she'll like them?" Hopper questions, wondering if he'd made a mistake in his current endeavor.

"Oh, no," Joyce says, shaking her head. "She's going to love them, but was it really a good idea right now?"

"I thought it was kind of metaphorical," He defends. "I was already there when I got the call from Steve, so I thought I should bring them along."

"And you sold your trailer?" Joyce inquires, moving past his crazy plans.

"I didn't sell the land, I just sold the stuff inside that was gathering dust, and the actual building materials for scrap," He answers. "You know Gary, with the construction company?"

"Of course, they fixed my wall," Joyce replies, not seeing the connection.

"Well, the cabin is a little far from town, especially from the school, so I got Gary to give me a deal on building a new house where the trailer used to be," Hopper explains. "Nothing too fancy, probably only one story, but there'll be plenty of space around it, and the lake's right there."

"You're very excited," Joyce observes.

"Of course I am, I think she's really gonna like this," He says proudly. "She'll get to have her own room that doesn't open into the entire damn house, and I'll get to have a door again."

"I'm sure she'll love _that_ ," Joyce murmurs under her breath.

"Just you watch, I've got a really great feeling about this," Hopper responds. "And we're still good for Enzo's tomorrow, right?"

"Seven thirty, I know," Joyce confirms. "Just focus on this meeting first, there must be a reason El wanted you to come over so suddenly."

Hopper opens his mouth to reply, but then the front door of the apartment building opens, Liz leaning out to call to them.

"Let's get the show on the road!" She shouts. "I've only got time for one set of lovebirds right now, so we need to get a move on!"

Hopper rolls his eyes, which makes Joyce laugh.

"Go on, I'll keep an eye out for now," Joyce tells him, giving him a gentle shove.

Hopper nods, taking a deep breath. He meets Liz at the door, and she raises an eyebrow at him.

"Did you do what I think you did?" She asks, throwing one last glance across the parking lot to where Joyce is waiting.

Hopper just smirks, not answering the question as he walks past her. Liz shakes her head and then starts toward the stairs, letting the door close behind her. Without another word, they make their way up to El's apartment, finding her and Mike waiting for them on the couch.

Liz closes the door behind them, locking it just like before, which Hopper raises an eyebrow of his own to.

"Well, I'm here," He says, sitting on one of the sparse pieces of furniture. "What was the big emergency?"

Mike and El look at each other, and then El sits up a little straighter.

"We need to talk," She starts. "About everything that happened."

Hopper's eyes widen for a second in surprise, but then he composes himself. He'd spent time figuring out what he would say when this day finally came, but here he is without his damn speech. Hopefully he can remember some of it.

"What you did hurt us, both of us, in ways you don't even know," Mike tells the grown man, who purses his lips.

"But we understand why you did it," El says, images flashing behind her eyes when she closes them. "Even if we don't like it."

"We decided, with a little help, that going through this cycle again and again for the rest of our lives isn't a good idea," Mike continues, throwing a glance toward Liz on the other side of the couch.

"So we want to make some ground rules, so we can move past this," El concludes.

By this point, Hopper is beyond shocked, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two teens, and then at Liz, who just smirks.

"Umm...ok..." Hopper says, with every shred of eloquence in his body.

"We're never going to have full disclosure," Mike begins, vaguely remembering his agreement with Nancy that they'd never kept. "But from now on, we don't keep the big things a secret. If it affects all of us, we all deserve to know."

Hopper nods, his whole body more numb than anything else as he tries to process the scene unfolding around him.

"I know you want me to be safe," El picks up. "And for some reason, you think Mike isn't safe. We're not going to stop being together, but we promise not to be stupid when we're alone."

Hopper knows better than to argue with that one, despite his lingering disagreement with their joined-at-the-hip relationship.

"And the rules need to change," Mike says definitively.

"Don't need so many," El agrees. "We have the 'don't be stupid' rule already."

"We can talk about it, for sure," Hopper responds, finally regaining enough sense of himself to contribute to the conversation. "But before we do, what changed? We were making progress, but I thought I had weeks left to write this speech."

Mike and El both glance at Liz.

"That would be me, Hop," Liz answers. "See, I can use my powers for good, if I really want. I can understand someone better than any other person on the planet, and I can spread that understanding to other people. I helped you understand them back in July, and I helped them understand you today."

Hopper nods silently for a few moments, his gaze shifting to the coffee table between them. When he looks up, he has a single tear running down his cheek.

"Thank you," He says, and then turns to the kids. "If you don't mind, I had some things I wanted to say during this speech. I don't really need all of them now, but whether you already know or not, I need to say them."

They both nod, and Hopper takes a deep breath.

"I asked Joyce to help me write the damn thing, so it turned into something about us all being comfortable sharing our feelings," He starts, looking down at the coffee table, only vaguely remembering the beginning of the speech, but that's not the important part. "Feelings...feelings are something I almost forgot I had. For years, I've been stuck in the same place, like a cave. A deep, dark cave."

None of those present question him, one having seen everything, and the other two having seen enough to understand.

"And then, I left some eggos out in the woods, and you came into my life," He continues, looking up from the table to El. "And for the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. I started to feel happy." He pauses, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "I don't want to keep you from your friends, or even from Mike, since he's so important to you. I guess I've been feeling...distant from you, ever since last fall, like you're pulling away from me or something. And then May happened, and now here we are."

El breathes deeply, still with her own personal misgivings.

"I miss playing board games every night, and making triple-decker eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, and watching old westerns together before we doze off," He tells them reminiscently. "But I know you're getting older. Growing. Changing. And I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change."

El can't deny missing some of those things as well, but it still has the tinge of mistrust that she can't shake.

"I think maybe that's why I've been so against letting you guys be together," He says, looking at Mike as well. "I've been trying to maybe...stop that change, to turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were." He looks down at the table again. "But I know that's naive. It's just not how life works. It's moving, always moving, whether you like it or not."

This speech is new to all of them, even to Liz, and she seems a little impressed by what Hopper had come up with, even if a lot of it is off the cuff.

"And yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad," He informs them, well versed in both. "And sometimes it's surprising. Happy. So, you know what?" He looks back at the two teens, focusing on his daughter. "Keep on growing up, kid. Don't let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from them, and when life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt." He pauses for a moment, his own most recent hurt all too clear to him. "The hurt is good, it means you're out of that cave. I know what I did hurt you, and I will regret that for the rest of my life, but I'd do it all again, because you helped me leave that cave, once and for all."

El can't help the tears that roll down her cheeks, though she does wipe them away. Even Mike's eyes aren't dry, despite what it meant for him.

"And as for the rules, most of them were bullshit anyway," He adds with a chuckle. "You can throw those out the window, so long as you keep the don't be stupid rule. But please, if you don't mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches."

El nods, wiping at her eyes again. She'd seen a lot of it in Hopper's memories, but hearing him say it himself carries a different weight. Jim Hopper, the surly Chief of Police of Hawkins Indiana...

Her dad.

"Friends don't lie," El tells him, schooling her expression back to normal. Hopper sucks in a breath in preparation for a blow, either verbal or physical. "But family sticks together."

Her solemn expression turns into a smile, which Mike copies. Hopper's chest blossoms with warmth, feeling better than he has in months now.

"Well, we have some new family members now," Hopper says with a hearty laugh. "They're waiting outside, I guess I should introduce you."

El's eyes widen, rising from the couch in sudden excitement and curiosity, and pulling Mike with her. Hopper gets up as well and starts toward the door, and then toward the parking lot, the two teens hot on his heels. Liz stays in her seat for a few more moments, silently joining in their joy.

They're not the family she ever expected to have.

"Hey, wait for me!" She shouts, hurrying after them.

They're better.

* * *

Ah, I can hear it in the distance, the angry mob coming for me.

This chapter addressed a lot of the personal problems of and between the 'main' characters so far. I will be focusing content on other people moving forward, but so far all of my set up has required this focus. El has only acted, and really existed, through her relationships and interactions with the other characters, never on her own initiative (except for going to find Kali, which was 11/10), so I want her to branch out into doing her own things. She won't just become a lone wolf, don't worry, but she's going to start being a lot more opinionated and exploratory as she develops as an individual.

Mike is still plagued by his thoughts, a feeling I'm sure many of us can relate to, if on a smaller scale than him. Trauma doesn't just disappear when the initial cause goes away, it sticks with you, and it can consume you if you try to ignore it forever. With help and support, though, you can learn to move past it. It doesn't go away, but it doesn't control you.

And Liz! I'm sure some of you think I'm showing a pattern in trauma coping methods, but this seemed like the most realistic thing for her. When she resonates with someone, she essentially lives their life through their memories, and in a way she becomes them, because now they're a part of her. When there get to be too many parts of you that aren't _you_ , that's when the real you starts to disappear, so Liz latched onto her number. No matter how many lives she carries with her, Six is Liz and Liz is Six, nobody else.

Now, as always, I'm not a psychologist, I don't have any more license to say how these things should or would go than anyone else. This is just how I believe these things would go in the context of the world I am creating. If you, or someone you know, struggle with suicidal thoughts or actions, I encourage you to reach out to someone you trust. There are people out there that want to help you, and they will if you let them. The national suicide hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255

And as for Hopper, yes, I took his speech from Season 3 that he NEVER GOT TO READ! Everything would have been _fine_ if he just _read_ it, but NO, Mike is a brat and Hopper is too impatient to deal with children!

Ok, I'm fine, everything is fine. We're good, we're all good here.

Moving to the future of this story, it's time for school! We get to see that party back in the classroom and dealing with all the fun stuff that comes with being in school again! Isn't that exciting?

The list stands at:

Complete- Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, mystery surprise Parts 1, 2, & 3, summer break(start), 4th of July, end of summer part 1 & 2

In Progress- start of school

To Do- the real story is about to begin

Until next time!


End file.
